A 10-year-old Muslim shrine built illegally and on encroached land in Hardoi’s Kashiram Colony was demolished by the local administration in the presence of a heavy police force. The Executive Officer of the Municipality said a notice was issued informing in advance about the removal of the shrine. He further informed that the shrine was removed by the encroacher himself, along with his people.
As per the report, a case of illegal encroachment of the government land in Kashiram Colony and the illegal construction of a religious place had brought to the attention of the Municipality. The EO received information that one Sagir Ahmed had illegally encroached upon a piece of government land and erected a shrine over it. A notice was issued to him in this regard.
After receiving the notice, Ahmed agreed to the removal of the shrine. On Friday, in the presence of other officials including the CO City, the illegal shrine built was removed. However, in anticipation that the removal of the shrine might attract public outrage, police troops were deployed in the region.
As per Mutawalli Sagir Ahmed, the shrine was as old as the colony. He told it was 10 years ago that the shrine came into existence. The illegal encroachment of the government land was reported by Bajrang Dal members, following which the administration issued a notice to Ahmed and informed him about the removal of the shrine.
Administration in UP’s Barabanki demolishes illegally constructed mosque
It is noteworthy to mention that last month, the administration in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district had pulled down a 100-year-old illegally constructed ‘mosque’. On May 17, following the SDM’s instructions, the illegal structure was demolished.
The officials confirmed an illegal residential structure situated inside the ‘tehsil’ premises in the Ram Sanehi Ghat area in the district. As per officials, a notice was served on the people who had been residing there, asking them to produce documents supporting their claim, but they fled after the notice was served.
However, the local Muslim organisations and opposition began to outrage claiming that the ‘mosque’ was legal. The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board had termed the district administration’s action illegal and moved the Allahabad High Court against it.
In a setback to Muslim organisations, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had disposed of a petition filed in this connection on April 2, which proved that the construction was illegal. It is pertinent to note that The Wire had spread misinformation about the case after the High Court had disposed of the petition filed in this case.
