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The court of the City Magistrate in Saharanpur has ordered the demolition of an illegal mosque located within the District Magistrate (DM) office premises and imposed a fine of over Rs 6 crore on the occupants.
The action followed a complaint filed by Vikas Tyagi, former provincial coordinator of Bajrang Dal. Tyagi had alleged that an illegal mosque was constructed within the DM office complex, which is a sensitive zone housing confidential government operations. The complaint further alleged that the premises were being used for commercial purposes in addition to religious activities. It was claimed that a post office was operating from the site and several rooms were rented out to outsiders, with the mosque committee collecting the monthly rent. Taking cognisance of the matter, the court of City Magistrate Kuldeep Singh, after a lengthy hearing, issued orders to demolish the illegal structure with immediate effect. A fine of approximately Rs 6.41 crore has also been imposed on the occupants for illegal encroachment and misuse of government land. The administration stated that the decisive action was taken as the security and confidentiality of the government office were being compromised. Notably, several illegally constructed religious structures have been demolished by the administration in various parts of Uttar Pradesh. Last year, in February, a portion of Madni Mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, which was allegedly built on 'encroached' land, was demolished by bulldozers earlier this month. The caretaker of the mosque has claimed that the Muslim community had purchased land around a year ago for the purpose of constructing the mosque and that there was no encroachment. The mosque committee challenged the demolition in the High Court and secured a stay order until February 8; however, with the order expiring on February 9, authorities initiated the demolition drive. Later, the Supreme Court issued notice to the concerned authorities of the Uttar Pradesh government on a contempt petition for demolishing part of the Madni mosque in the state's Kushinagar district. The plea said demolition action at a mosque in Kushinagar was in alleged violation of the November 13, 2024, order restraining demolition actions across the country without prior notice and opportunity of hearing. (ANI)
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