Tension in Saharanpur village after demolition of under-construction mosque

Imran Masood, Member of the Lok Sabha from Saharanpur, said, “Religious Endowment Act doesn’t mention that permission is needed to build a structure; it only requires intimation.” File | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Bhojpur village under Chilkana police station limits in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district remained tense on Friday (May 30, 2025), a day after an under-construction mosque built on private land was demolished by the administration, which cited the construction as illegal.

Delegations from various political parties, including the Congress, visited the area to appeal for peace. Local Lok Sabha MP Imran Masood, who led the Congress delegation, said the matter would be raised at appropriate forums.

“Religious Endowment Act doesn’t mention that permission is needed to build a structure; it only requires intimation. Secondly, if the administration demolished the structure, where is the demolition order? No Supreme Court guideline was followed in this move,” Mr. Masood told The Hindu. He said the aggrieved parties would approach the Supreme Court and the High Court, citing violations of legal procedure.

Mr. Masood added that no one confronted the administration at the time of demolition to avoid escalation. “We didn’t want to give them (the administration) an excuse for using force; hence, people showed restraint. The fight will be in the court of law,” said the MP from Saharanpur.

According to the district administration, local police were informed about the construction a few days ago. The Station House Officer of Chilkana reportedly visited the site and halted the construction, citing lack of authorisation. Despite this, construction allegedly continued, leading to the demolition of the structure on May 29 under heavy police presence.

“We received directions from the local civil administration to provide force as some illegal structure was being constructed without proper permission. I am not privy to the exact nature of the structure. Our role was to maintain peace during the demolition. No untoward incident occurred,” Manoj Kumar Yadav, Circle Officer, Saharanpur Sadar, said.

Published - May 30, 2025 10:49 pm IST