Historic Mosque Demolished in India Amid Heavy Police Security
An ancient mosque located in the premises of the Saharanpur District Magistrate’s office in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur was demolished under heavy police guard on Saturday (September 5) after a court upheld an order declaring the building illegal and built on government land. The incident has sparked intense tension in the entire area. To avoid any untoward incident, the five main gates of Saharanpur Collectorate were sealed. A large number of additional police, PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed across the district.
DIG Saharanpur Abhishek Singh said that the city magistrate’s court had identified the structures as illegal constructions on government land. Later, when the appeal of the mosque committee was dismissed by the district judge’s court, the administration carried out the eviction process in accordance with the law. In addition, surveillance on social media has been intensified to prevent the spread of rumors.
The controversy began with a complaint by former Bajrang Dal provincial coordinator Vikas Tyagi, who claimed that the mosque was illegally built inside a sensitive government office complex. The city magistrate court ordered the demolition of the building and imposed a fine of around Rs 6.41 crore for illegal use of government land. The mosque committee challenged the order and appealed to the district judge’s court, but it was dismissed earlier this week.
Meanwhile, a fresh controversy has erupted over the house arrest of Samajwadi Party (SP) Lok Sabha MP from Kairana, Iqra Hasan. Iqra Hasan alleged that a large police force was deployed outside her residence in Kairana and she was detained while she was preparing to meet officials in Saharanpur and raise concerns of the common people.
Expressing her anger, Ms. Iqra said, “Is it now a crime for an elected member of parliament to meet officials about the problems of the people of his constituency? In a democracy, public representatives are elected to speak for the people. That voice cannot be silenced by detaining me.”
The incident has heated up state politics. The Samajwadi Party has strongly criticised the UP government for its move. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “Maintaining social harmony should be the government’s biggest responsibility and achievement.” Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari alleged that the BJP was trying to destroy harmony ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati called the evictions a “hasty move.” Criticizing the policy of razing religious places and the homes of the accused without trial, she called for legal and alternative dispute resolution. Local Congress MP Imran Masood claimed that the mosque predates 1911 and was registered in the names of Wahid Khan and Yakub Khan. He announced that he would challenge it in court, alleging that the Waqf Board was not involved in the legal proceedings. The administration, however, stood firm in its position, stating that the illegal construction was removed in compliance with the final court order.
