In Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, the Municipal Corporation team on Monday, 9th September, demolished the illegal encroachments by a local mosque looked after by the Karbala Committee. The Mosque Committee had illegally expanded the area allotted for religious purposes and constructed stores, marriage halls, and shrines in the mosque premises. Notably, following the High Court’s decision, the Municipal Corporation employees cleared these encroachments today.
According to reports, the demolition took place at a mosque located near Bhilai’s zone office. The Municipal Corporation’s employees arrived at the Mosque on Sunday, 8th September, demanding the removal of illegal encroachment. However, the Karbala Committee, which controls the Mosque refused to act upon it. As a result, the authorities started a demolition drive on Monday, 9th September.
The administration first razed the boundary wall of the mosque, five shops, a marriage hall, and the welcome gate to the ground with a bulldozer. All these sites had been illegally expanded by the committee. As per the reports, the Municipal Corporation had sent a legal notice three days before such action.
It is said that in the year 1984, about 800 square feet of land was given by the government on the Bhilai-Raipur highway for the construction of the mosque. This land was given to the Committee by the Special Area Development Authority (SADA). However, the committee misused this land and encroached on two and a half acres of land instead of 800 square feet.
The committee illegally built a tomb and a marriage hall. Apart from this, five shops were also built. The Municipal Corporation’s bulldozer ran over all these on Monday, 9th September. Earlier it was stated that the Mosque had encroached on the land of the Municipal Corporation office as well, which is located near the mosque.
The Municipal Corporation team reportedly has taken this action after the order of the High Court. The High Court, while giving its verdict on a petition, had ordered that the illegal possession should be vacated as soon as possible. After this, the team of Bhilai Municipal Corporation said that they would demolish all the non-religious structures around the mosque.
The Karbala Committee opposed the action of the Municipal Corporation and claimed that they had been in possession of the place since 1957. The complaint in this matter was registered by BJP leader SK Mobin alias Babar. He had said that the people of the Muslim community had illegally occupied the valuable land on Supela-Bhilai GE Road adjacent to Sailani Baba’s tomb.
Babar had said that Ghulam Sailani, Chairman of Karbala Committee Bhilai, had taken over land worth crores in the name of a Dargah, and built shops to earn rent from it. “The Municipal Corporation is also suffering losses due to this. The tomb has been here for a long time, but the rest of the construction work has been done by occupying it,” he had said.
