In past few days, communal tension has spread in Kela Dandi village of Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh due to illegal construction of a mosque. This dispute started when some people of the Muslim community started building an illegal mosque inside the village. The situation worsened when people of the Hindu community took to the streets over the illegal construction and a part of the wall of the mosque allegedly fell. After this incident, tension spread in the entire village and police had to be deployed in large numbers to control the situation.
According to media reports, Fida Hussain and his brother Arif of the Muslim community donated their plot for the construction of the mosque. After this, people of the Muslim community erected walls on that plot and started building a mosque there. Painting was done on the walls and Namaz was being observed at the place. However, this construction was done without any government permission, which became the main reason for the dispute.
People of the Hindu community had complained to the administration about this illegal construction about three months ago. At that time, the administration had put a stop to the construction work in the presence of police and also put the place under lockdown. However, even then the illegal construction was not completely demolished, due to which resentment grew in the Hindu society.
The situation worsened when the people of the Hindu society allegedly demolished a part of the wall of the illegal mosque on Friday (27th September, 2024). After this incident, the police immediately reached the spot and got the wall rebuilt under their supervision. This step raises questions on the role of the police, as the Hindu society alleged that the police was working in cahoots with the Muslim side and promoting illegal construction. Reacting to this, the people of the Hindu society again took to the streets and sat on a dharna.
BJP MLA Dr. MP Arya also got actively involved in this dispute. When he came to know about this matter, he immediately reached the village and joined the women sitting on the dharna. He also demanded the removal of this illegal construction and strongly criticized the role of the police-administration. He informed about this whole matter through a post on social media and criticized the attitude of the police.
After this dispute, the police and administration came into action and a large number of police forces were deployed in the village. SP Southern, Mukesh Chandra Mishra, said in this matter that the administration had earlier also taken steps to stop the illegal construction of the mosque. He said that the construction work was already stopped on the orders of the magistrate, but the Hindu side alleged that Namaz was being offered there and this construction started again secretly.
This dispute took a more serious turn when stone pelting started between the two communities. Many videos of this stone pelting went viral on social media, in which it can be seen that people of both sides are throwing stones at each other. After this incident, tension spread further in the area. The police immediately called a fire brigade vehicle to the spot and security was increased to prevent stones being thrown from the rooftops.
2 समुदायों ने एक दूसरे पर जमकर की पत्थरबाजीबंद मकान की दीवर तोड़कर नमाज़ पढ़ने पर बवाल@_poojaLive @amitviews pic.twitter.com/LsKJOJjZJH
— News18 India (@News18India) September 28, 2024
After the stone pelting, the police detained 12 people. These people were mainly from the Hindu community, who were accused of demolishing the wall of the illegal construction. These arrests further angered the people from the Hindu side, due to which they started protesting under the leadership of MLA MP Arya. The main demand of the people sitting on the protest was that the arrested youths should be released unconditionally and the illegal construction should be completely stopped. At present, in view of the tense situation, police from many police stations and PSC force were deployed in the village.
#बरेली क्योलडिया थाना क्षेत्र गांव केलादांडी में पुलिस ने अवैध #मस्जिद निर्माण कराया व हिन्दू महिलाओं को दौड़ा-दौड़ा कर पीटा @Uppolice@bareillypolice
— 🏹🏹जय श्री राम 🚩🚩 (@kkbhai9997) September 28, 2024
महोदय हिंदू संगठन संबंधित अधिकारी गणों से पूर्ण.सहयोग. की अपेक्षा रखते हैं। 🙏🙏 https://t.co/vhUIyWD5oT
At present, the situation in the village is tense but under control. Efforts are being made to maintain peace in the village amid heavy deployment of police force. However, tension still persists between the two communities and questions are also being raised on the role of the administration. MLA MP Arya and his supporters say that they will continue their protest until the illegal construction is completely removed and the arrested youths are released.
