Portion of 180-year-old mosque demolished in Fatehpur

FATEHPUR, Uttar Pradesh: A portion of an around 180-year-old mosque was demolished in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur area as authorities alleged it was built on an encroached land on the Banda-Fatehpur Road.

According to a report in Indian Express, the district administration said that a notice had earlier been issued the mosque committee Noori Jama Masjid to eliminate the encroached structure.

While the mosque committee had filed an application at the Allahabad High Court seeking relief, the district administration razed the structure.

“The committee has filed a petition in high court but it is yet to be listed for hearing,” Avinash Tripathi, Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Finance and Revenue, Fatehpur, told The Indian Express.

He said that the structure which was demolished was built three years ago but the main building of the mosque was intact.

According to Tripathi, the Public Works Department had issued notices to 139 people, including shopkeepers, house owners and the mosque committee, in August to demolish “illegal structures” built on the encroached land. “The PWD has removed the encroachments to start work on the road and construct drains,” he said.

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“The PWD had marked the encroached section of all the buildings. All those who were served notices removed the encroachments in September and the mosque committee demolished the encroached parts of the shops built adjacent to the mosque. The committee had assured to remove the structure which is part of the mosque, but they did not make it,” ADM Tripathi said.

The PWD had sought help from the local administration and police to provide security for demolishing the alleged encroached structure of the mosque.

A large number of police personnel were there to maintain law and order, Tripathi said, adding that no one protested while they demolished the portion of the mosque.