Part of 185-year-old Noori Masjid demolished for highway widening in Fatehpur, UP

Last update:December 10, 2024, 6:38 p.m. IST

Amid tight security, part of the 185-year-old Noori Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district was demolished on Tuesday by local authorities, claiming it was built illegally there two-three years ago and that it was obstructing the widening of the BandaBahraich highway.

The district administration and joint PWD team demolished the illegally constructed portion of Noori Jama Masjid in Lalauli village. (ANI)

Amid tight security, part of the 185-year-old Noori Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district was demolished on Tuesday by local authorities, claiming it was built illegally there two or three years ago and that it was obstructing the widening of the Banda-Bahraich highway.

The head of the mosque management committee, however, claimed that the Noori Mosque in Lalauli town was built in 1839 while the road around it was only built in 1956, and said they had already requested the Allahabad High Court to consider the petition on December 12. .

The district administration claimed that the demolished portion was illegal and had been reused over the past two to three years, citing satellite and historical images of the mosque site.

The Public Works Department (PWD) had, as part of the widening of Highway No. 13 Banda-Bahraich, given a notice to remove certain parts of the mosque due to their “illegal construction”, but the mosque management did not implement it. according to officials.

“About 20 meters of Noori Masjid, which obstructed the widening of Highway No. 13 Banda-Bahraich, was demolished by a bulldozer on Tuesday in the presence of officials and its debris is now being removed,” said the inspector in charge of the Lalauli police station. Vrindavan Rai told PTI.

In response to a question, he said: “Public order remains strong. All shops within a radius of about 200 meters around the mosque have been closed and an area of ​​300 meters has been sealed off.” Lalauli virtually turned into a police cantonment during the demolition exercise due to heavy deployment of security personnel. This precautionary measure comes amid incidents of community tensions and opposition to demolition actions by state authorities.

Rai said police and Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed in every nook and corner of Lalauli to maintain law and order.

On August 17, 2024, the PWD sent a notice to the mosque management committee to remove part of the mosque, but it did not implement it, he said.

Mutawalli (head) of Noori Masjid management committee Mohammad Moin Khan alias Bablu Khan said his lawyer Syed Azimuddin has filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court against demolition of any part of the mosque which will be heard on December 12.

“The Noorie Mosque in Lalauli was built in 1839 and the road here was built in 1956, but the PWD is calling some parts of the mosque illegal,” he said.

Additional district magistrate Avinash Tripathi said notices were issued to 139 entities in August, including the mosque management, to remove encroachments and other illegal constructions.

“Road repair works and drain construction works were proposed along the route, due to which encroachments were removed after notification,” Tripathi told reporters.

He also pointed out that the district administration had duly informed the mosque management in the past.

“Earlier, the management had removed the shops attached to it. Now, the removal of a part has become inevitable as it was built later. The rest of the mosque has not been demolished. It is clear satellite and historical images that the construction took two to three years. “There is only the encroached part that was removed,” Tripathi said.

Additional Superintendent of Police P Vijay Shankar Mishra oversaw security arrangements at the venue, where five circle constables, station house constables from 10 police stations and dozens of constables were deployed during the drive. demolition.

Meanwhile, in Bareilly, Islamic cleric Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi denounced the action against the “historic” mosque.

“This is recorded in all government records. Declaring the Noorie Mosque illegal and bulldozing it in such a situation is sheer injustice,” Barelvi said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

Location :

Fatehpur, India