Tension in Sambhalafter admn stops‘illegal’ constructionat a ‘mosque’

Bareilly Tension prevailed on Friday in Sambhal in Moradabad division after construction work at a ‘mosque’ in Sarai Tareen locality was stopped by the district

Bareilly Tension prevailed on Friday in Sambhal in Moradabad division after construction work at a ‘mosque’ in Sarai Tareen locality was stopped by the district administration on the complaint of members of a Hindu organisation.

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District magistrate Avinash Krishna Singh said Rapid Action Force (RAF) had been deployed as a precautionary measure at the site to stop further construction, which was allegedly being undertaken illegally, and also to prevent any kind of clash. A case under relevant sections of urban planning and development act by sub divisional magistrate for unauthorized construction has been registered against the owners of the land on which the mosque was being built.

According to station house officer (SHO) Ravindra Kumar of Hayatnagar police station, the complaint was made by Hindu residents of the Sarai Tareen on Wednesday night. They said a madarsa was initially being run at the site. Later on, some locals also started offering namaaz inside the madarsa in Sarai Tareen and a few months ago work started on the construction of a mosque.

The SHO visited the spot and found that the roof of the building had already been completed. When the owners could not furnish any permission or sanctioned map of the structure, Kumar locked up the premises and asked the residents not to offer prayer at the site till further orders. But by this time a crowd had gathered at the site and some of them went to a nearby mosque and announced on loudspeakers that police had stopped them from offering namaz and thrown their holy book out of the under-construction mosque. A large crowd then gathered at the site and some women broke open the locks in the presence of police.

Apprehending trouble, senior civil and district police officials rushed to the spot and immediately deployed Rapid Action Force (RAF) to defuse the situation. The officials then held talks with members of the community and assured them that the madarsa premises would be opened and that they could continue with all religious activities, barring community prayers.

DM Avinash Singh said the situation was tense but under control and additional police force had been deployed.