Shimla mosque panel asks civic body to seal illegal portion, offers to demolish it
The representatives of the mosque committee on Thursday requested the municipal commissioner to seal the illegal portion and also offered to demolish it if the court orders so.
A day after protests in Shimla demanding the demolition of an alleged illegal portion of a Sanjauli mosque turned violent, the representatives of the mosque committee on Thursday requested the municipal commissioner to seal the illegal portion and also offered to demolish it if the court orders so.
The delegation comprised the Imam of the mosque, the local Muslim welfare committee and members of the Waqf board. They met Shimla municipal commissioner Bhupender Kumar Attri and submitted the memorandum.
The case of the unauthorised construction, which includes a few floors in the mosque complex, is being heard by the court of the municipal corporation and the next hearing has been fixed for October 5.
“We have submitted the memorandum requesting the commissioner to seal the ‘illegal’ portion for now and we also urged that MC should tell us which portion is illegal and give us permission to demolish it ourselves,” said one of the delegation members.
The member said the Muslim community will accept the decision of the masjid committee, adding, “We all need each other and our harmony and brotherhood should remain intact. We will provide all the assistance from our side to the administration,” he said.
“We never anticipated that offering namaz (prayers) on the road would lead to such significant issues for the community and result in a major protest,” he added.
Notably, Hindu organisations have been demanding the demolition of the disputed structure in the mosque and the registration of outsiders coming to the state.
At least 10 persons, including six police personnel and four protestors, were injured after the police resorted to baton charge and used water cannon after the agitators broke the barricades and reached the vicinity of the mosque.
The traders’ association had also given a call for the Sanjauli bandh for Thursday. A number of shops also remained closed for a few hours on Thursday to protest against the police action on protestors.
“They have requested to seal the portion which is claimed to be illegal and they said that they will respect the orders of the court. We will look into this representation,” municipal commissioner Bhupender Kumar Attri said.