30-yr-old mosque built illegally on park land razed in Sambhal

Mosque built over 262 sq m of more than one hectare area of land earmarked for public park... entire illegal construction has been removed, says naib tehsildar

MEERUT A 30-year-old mosque built adjacent Shri Kalki Dham Temple in UP’s Sambhal district was demolished on Tuesday after officials found it to have been constructed illegally on land earmarked for a public park. The demolition exercise, carried out by the district administration under tight security, lasted nearly an hour. Police forces from two stations and personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were deployed to prevent any law and order issues.

The mosque being razed in Sambhal on Tuesday (Sourced)

According to officials, the mosque was built on 262 sq m of park land (more than one hectare) in Saidangli-Manauta village. The tehsildar had issued an eviction order around 20 days ago, and Tuesday’s operation was carried out in compliance with court directions.

The case began four months ago when villagers lodged a complaint with the revenue department, alleging that the ‘Chhoti Masjid’, situated next to the Shri Kalki Dham Temple, had been constructed on park land. A subsequent investigation by a revenue officer confirmed the encroachment.

Following the findings, a case titled Gram Sabha vs Jameel Ahmad was filed before the tehsildar’s court. The first notice was served to mosque representatives on June 11. After a series of hearings, tehsildar DP Singh passed an eviction order on September 24, directing that the illegal structure be removed.

The demolition team, led by naib tehsildar Deepak Jurel, reached the site around 1 pm. Circle officer (Asmoli) Kuldeep Singh oversaw the operation.

Authorities said there was no resistance from locals. Two bulldozers were used to flatten the structure, which stood just 7 ft away from the temple. Within an hour, the mosque was completely demolished.

Jurel said, “The land is registered as public park land. The mosque had been built over 262 sq m of this area. The entire illegal construction has been removed.”

CO Kuldeep Singh confirmed that the action was carried out under judicial orders and “completed peacefully with adequate police and PAC deployment.”

Tuesday’s demolition was the second such incident in Sambhal within 10 days. On October 5, another mosque — built over pond land — was also taken down. In that case, the Muslim community and mosque committee had themselves arranged for the demolition after the Allahabad high court dismissed their petition seeking a stay.