India, June 17 -- The BMC in its affidavit filed with the Bombay High Court has stated that the demolition of the historic Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhavan in Dadar in June 2016 appears to have been done by a "private party without informing the corporation or seeking its permission".

The BMC's stand contradicts the trustees at whose behest the demolition had taken place. According to Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti, whose reply had been sought by the court, the trustees at whose behest the structure was demolished had told the police the centre was being razed following a notice issued by the BMC.

Bharti also told the court that the police had no prior intelligence inputs about a crowd assembling at Ambedkar Bhavan on the night of its...