Following complaints from the local residents, the civic authorities had demolished on Monday the offices of the Shiv Sena and the Congress, which had sprung up barely 10 days ago. However, the residents were dismayed to find that demolitions were conducted leaving plinth level intact.

A resident pointed out that the authorities left ample scope for mischief. After the demolition squad had moved away truckloads of new bricks and cement and concrete bags were transported back to the site. ``When we contacted the ward officer, he blamed the police for not providing security. On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajendra Singh told us that no request was made for additional reinforcements which is always provided during demolitions,'' said NishtaGupta, a resident.

A well-placed civic official said two of the civic staffers were threatened by local shakha pramukh Pradeep Kulkarni and his men, who reportedly told them that if they dared to touch the sites again their limbs would be broken. ``Both structures came up as a marriage of convenience. The local Nehru Nagar police were intimated thrice but did not come to the site. Hence we had to leave after completing 80 per cent our demolition work,'' the official said. Kulkarni later took a delegation to meet local Deputy Municipal Commissioner S R Dange.

Another civic official requesting anonymity said that although police are provided from the special reserve for demolition, the senior police of the local police station has the sole right to command fire or teargas in case of trouble. On the day of demolition the Nehru Nagar police station did not provide any security.

Ward officer Capt. Prakash Thorat said though he did not receive any threats two civic engineers were threatened during thedemolition operation. ``We will complete the remaining demolition tommorrow. DCP Singh has assured us of his full cooperation,'' he informed.

Meanwhile, at Suman Nagar, around 350 huts were demolished with the help of SRP and BMC's reserve police today. However, anticipating trouble the civic authorities are likely to seek security cover by the State Reserve Police.