On Wednesday, February 15, several members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) protested against the alleged illegal construction taking place inside the Hazrat Bilal Mosque near the Balkhandi Naka area in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh.
Several videos of the alleged vandalization of the under-construction mosque have surfaced on social media. The VHP activists halted the construction work at the mosque and dispersed construction materials claiming that although permission was taken from the administration for the construction work, additional construction was being carried out illegally. Several VHP activists staged a Dharna and chanted slogans against the alleged illegal construction. Several Bajrang Dal activists also joined the protest.
Meanwhile, the Muslim side reached the collectorate and accused VHP of vandalizing the mosque. They first demonstrated at Ashok Lat under the direction of AS Nomani, National President of the Bundelkhand Insaf Sena, before heading to the Collectorate and submitting the memorandum to the Deputy Collector. They claimed that VHP and Bajrang Dal activists had assaulted the construction workers.
VHP alleges illegal construction
Chandra Mohan Bedi, district president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, stated that although the administration had approved the mosque’s renovation on December 12 last year, the mosque’s authorities were getting additional construction done there. “We just want to let the administration know that its order is being defied,” Bedi said.
VHP leader Chandra Mohan Bedi in a letter also alleged that a four-storey mosque is being constructed without authorisation. He has raised concerns about foreign funding in the mosque. In his letter, Bedi also demanded the demolition of the mosque.
Chandra Mohan Bedi referred to the mosque in his letter as an instance of land jihad and asked Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, to intervene and launch an investigation. Bedi claimed that a conspiracy is being hatched to intimidate Hindus by erecting a mosque in a Hindu-majority area.
मा० योगी जी जीर्णोद्धार के नाम पर प्रशासन की सांठगांठ से बाँदा में अवैध रूप से हिन्दू बाहुल्य क्षेत्र में नजूल भूमि पर चार मंजिला मस्जिद का निर्माण , विदेशी फंडिंग की आशंका,विहिप द्वारा उच्चस्तरीयजांच कराने की मांग। @CMOfficeUP @dgpup @Uppolice @DM_Banda1 @VHPKanpur pic.twitter.com/r1pBOqeOpZ
— Chandra Mohan Bedi (@Bedijivhp) February 17, 2023
On the other hand, Maulvi Zahiruddin of the mosque claims that only reconstruction work was carried out after obtaining permission from the administration because the mosque, which is roughly 50–60 years old, had become entirely dilapidated. Some people arrived and immediately started creating a disturbance and vandalizing, they also stalled the construction work, he alleged.
Police says the investigation underway
Speaking on the matter, Abhinandan, Superintendent of Police, Banda, said renovation work was underway in a mosque in the Balakhandi Naka neighbourhood of the Kotwali Nagar area, where some residents had voiced their displeasure. They claimed that the name of the renovation work was being done on it, and as a result, the police and administrative team arrived and assessed the situation. In this case, necessary legal action is being taken, and it is also being looked into whether the renovation work was done in accordance with the rules or not.
#bandapolice थाना कोतवाली नगर क्षेत्र की घटना के संबंध में वीडियो बाइट पुलिस अधीक्षक बांदा श्री अभिनंदन।#अभिनंदन #UPPolice pic.twitter.com/oYMmaLh50g
— Banda Police (@bandapolice) February 16, 2023
SP Abhinandan on the question of the alleged vandalism said that the police are examining the videos of the incident, and those responsible for the vandalism were also being identified. He added that after investigating into the claims made by both parties, further legal action will be taken against them.
