Part of 185-year-old mosque demolished in UP, authorities say 'encroachment'

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A part of a 185-year-old mosque in Uttar Pradesh was demolished by local authorities on Tuesday. Reason: authorities claim the structure was encroaching on the Banda-Bahraich Highway.


The incident, reported from Fatehpur district, comes days after the Supreme Court underlined that bulldozer action is unacceptable under the rule of law.


The district administration claims that the portion demolished was illegal and had come up in the last two-three years, citing satellite and historical images of the mosque's site.


The Public Works Department (PWD) claims it had given a notice to remove some parts of the mosque due to their "illegal construction" on August 17.


The mosque officials, claims the PWD, were given a month's time and they promised to follow suit. However, they decided to challenge the order in the high court, said the PWD.


"About 20 metres of Noori Masjid, which was obstructing the widening of Banda-Bahraich Highway No. 13, was demolished by a bulldozer on Tuesday in the presence of officials and now its debris is being removed," Lalauli police station in-charge Inspector Vrindavan Rai told news agency PTI.


The chief of the Noori Masjid Management Committee has disputed the PWD's claim.


"The Noorie Mosque in Lalauli was built in 1839 and the road here was constructed in 1956, yet the PWD is calling some parts of the mosque illegal," said Mohammad Moin Khan, Mutawalli (chief) of Noori Masjid Management Committee.


Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi said notices were issued to 139 entities in August, including the mosque's management, to remove encroachments and other illegal constructions.


"Repair work on the road and construction work for a drain have been proposed along the route because of which encroachments have been removed after serving notice," Mr Tripathi said.


He also stressed that the district administration duly informed the mosque management in the past.


"The management earlier removed shops attached to it. Now removal of a portion became inevitable because it was constructed later. The rest of the mosque has not been demolished. It is evident from satellite and historical images that the construction was done two-three years ago. Only the encroached part has been removed," Mr Tripathi said.


Police and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in every nook and corner of the area to maintain law and order.