Saharanpur: Amid heavy police deployment, district authorities used bulldozers to raze a historic mosque inside the Saharanpur Collectorate complex at around 5 am on Saturday, two months after state officials declared it an illegal structure. The action has sparked widespread nationwide protests, with the mosque management committee alleging that the move was carried out without adhering to standard legal procedures.

The district administration maintained that the demolition was part of an anti-encroachment drive, asserting that the structure was illegally built on state land. The legal proceedings began when Vikas Tyagi, a local Bajrang Dal convener, filed a petition challenging the structure. In July, the City Magistrate’s court declared the building unauthorized, ordered its eviction and removal, and imposed a penalty of Rs 6.41 crore for alleged encroachment.

The immediate demolition followed a September 2 ruling by the District Judge’s court, which dismissed an appeal filed by the mosque committee and upheld the City Magistrate’s earlier order. Saharanpur DIG Abhishek Singh confirmed that five extra companies of the PAC and RAF were deployed across strategic locations to maintain law and order and monitor social media for rumours.

Meanwhile, political leaders strongly condemned the action. Congress MP Imran Masood stated that the legal fight would continue, claiming the mosque predated 1911 and criticizing the administration for failing to make the Waqf Board a party to the proceedings. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi also issued a sharp rebuke on X, stating: “This mosque predates the Collectorate itself. Seeing a mosque might be painful for some. If it bothers them so much, they should look away. Just because you have an itch does not mean you can drive bulldozers into mosques.”

MP Iqra Hasan placed under house arrest

Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha MP Iqra Hasan was placed under house arrest at her residence in Kairana overnight to prevent her from visiting the site. Expressing outrage over the restrictions, she questioned the administration's actions.
“A large police force was deployed at my residence overnight to prevent me from going to Saharanpur. I intended to visit to meet officials regarding the Collectorate mosque issue and voice the concerns of my constituency, but I was not allowed to leave. In a democracy, the public's voice cannot be suppressed by stopping an elected MP,” she said.

(With ANI inputs)