MUMBAI, 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 demolition in June 2016. In an affidavit on June 11, Bharti called the crowd that had assembled during the demolition of the centre, which housed the historic Buddha Bhushan printing press, a "flash crowd". He claimed a patrolling officer noticed their presence at 2:30 am. The historic centre and printing press was set up by Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar himself in 1930 as a hub to disseminate Dalit literature and Ambedkar's ideas. It was demolished in 2016 at the instance of some of the trustees following disputes within the trust. The trustees behind the demolition had allegedly relied on a false structural audit report to "instigate" the BMC to issue a notice claiming that the building was in dilapidated condition.The demolition has been challenged by a bunch of petitions filed by Prakash Ambedkar, leader of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and grandson of Dr Ambedkar, and others, who allege that the demolition was illegal. On April 30, a division bench of the high court had expressed "shock" over the midnight demolition, observing that the "evident inaction" of the Mumbai police was "contrary to the basic principles of law". It had also directed the commissioner of police to file a personal affidavit, stating whether the intelligence department was functioning when a 400-strong mob had gathered at the site at midnight. The petition stated when a mob of 400-odd people arrived with bulldozers to demolish the printing press at 2:00am on June 25, 2016, Anand Ambedkar, brother of Prakash Ambedkar, rushed to the Bhoiwada police station to lodge a complaint. However, the then DCP N Ambika, allegedly threatened to put him behind bars and refused to send police personnel to stop the demolition, the petition claimed. It added that when Anand Ambedkar returned to the site, the press had been demolished. It further claimed that no proper investigation was carried out for the stolen property or the demolition, prompting the petitioners to move court in April 2017. Assistant commissioner of police Ghanashyam Palange on April 28, 2026, filed an affidavit, stating that the allegations were "vague and baseless" while acknowledging that although the police had been informed about the demolition, the complainants did not possess the requisite documents to enable them to stop the demolition. In a contradictory stand to the trust's claim, the BMC's reply affidavit filed by municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide on June 15 states that "no permission for demolition, or taking possession was sought for or granted to anyone". Stating that it appears to be an "isolated case", where the BMC was not involved in the alleged demolition, Bhide submitted that civic records indicate that the demolition was done by a "private party without informing the corporation or seeking its permission"....