Bulldozer demolishes upscale cafe of Saokat Molla's son built illegaly on riverside

The Canning district administration on Thursday deployed heavy earthmovers and bulldozers to completely demolish an upscale, illegally constructed riverside cafe "Aranayer Kule" owned by Imran Molla, the son of influential local leader Saokat Molla. The high-profile enforcement drive was launched following an extensive administrative review of land records, which confirmed that the commercial structure had been built by illegally occupying and encroaching upon the fragile char (river bed) of the Matla River. Despite receiving official evacuation orders and explicit legal warnings to dismantle the structure independently, the owners failed to clear the premises, prompting direct state intervention.

Prior to the demolition, the local administration had served a formal statutory notice establishing a strict deadline of June 29 for the voluntary removal of the illegal complex. While workers were spotted removing interior furniture and valuable assets from the cafe premises over the weekend, the permanent concrete infrastructure remained fully intact past the designated grace period. Recognizing potential law-and-order challenges, a large contingent of state police personnel along with central paramilitary forces cordoned off the entire Canning East sector early in the morning before heavy machinery moved in.

The demolition operation commenced under the direct field supervision of the Canning East Block Development Officer (BDO), who coordinated the sequential flattening of the property. Bulldozers first breached the main ornamental entrance gates before systematically tearing down a manicured, "arranged garden" and the core building blocks situated inside the compound.