The building would certainly not have been erected in a fortnight, files would have travelled from one department to another and sanctioned would have sought still there was no check on such dastardly act. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted: "Only in India. Fifteenth-century monument demolished to construct govt officer's bungalow. Are the Archaeological Survey of India and Ministry of Culture napping yet again? Urging G Kishan Reddy (Union Minister For Culture and Tourism) to look at this." Even the Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena demanding a high-level investigation.

The monument is ASI listed and located in South East Delhi’s Jal Vihar identified as Mahal. In January 2021, the department of archaeology wrote to the DJB, seeking possession of the monument and a gateway for conservation. When the department returned to the site In January this year, it found that the monument had vanished.

DJB was in touch with the archaeology department regarding the handover of the monument till January 2021, but the communication came to a halt after Rai took charge with effect from November 2021. The communication was stopped, and the construction of the residence was taken up. The vigilance department has asked Rai to submit a reply within two weeks of the receipt of the notice. Rai did not respond to queries seeking comment.