Residents dismantle ‘illegal’ mosque ahead of demolition drive in Sambhal

Bareilly: Ahead of a scheduled demolition drive, residents of Hajipur village in Sambhal district on Sunday dismantled an allegedly illegal mosque on their own, which was facing action for encroaching on govt land.The action took place under Asmoli police station limits. The mosque, built on 1,339 sqm (around 1.5 bigha) of govt land, was slated for demolition on Sunday. However, hours before the administration reached the site, villagers began dismantling the structure themselves.District magistrate Rajender Pensiya said the mosque and a madrassa located nearby were illegally constructed around 20-25 years ago on govt land in Hajipur village.According to officials, a demolition order was passed by the tehsildar court six weeks ago. A four-month notice issued to the parties concerned for removal of the illegal encroachment was set to expire on Sunday. Following the demolition, the administration announced that the cleared land would be allotted to 20 selected beneficiaries under the patta scheme, a state govt land-allotment programme under which legal ownership is granted to eligible beneficiaries, usually landless or economically weaker families.Tehsildar Dhirendra Pratap Singh described the voluntary removal as a "positive step" and said the administration took nearly three hours to clear the debris using bulldozers.In another action, the district administration on Saturday demolished an "illegal" mosque in Raya Buzurg village after the encroachment was not fully removed despite prior notices, officials said.Additional superintendent of police (north) Kuldeep Singh said, "The mosque management committee had earlier been asked to remove the structure on its own and was given time, but the process remained incomplete. As the work was not finished within the stipulated period, the administration proceeded with the demolition."Naib tehsildar Deepak Kumar Jurail said, "The structure was built on plot number 459, recorded as a manure pit in revenue records and an eviction order had been passed by the tehsildar court in Sept. Although a week's time was sought on Oct 2, no action was taken thereafter."He added that the demolition was carried out peacefully with adequate security deployment, including police personnel and PAC, and no protest was reported.(With inputs from agencies)