New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh administration on December 10 demolished a portion of a 185-year-old mosque in Fatehpur claiming that the “illegal construction” was obstructing the widening of a highway. The Fatehpur administration’s decision to tear down a part of the Noori Masjid came just three days before the Allahabad high court was to hear a petition filed by the caretakers of the mosque challenging the proposed plans for demolition.
The Fatehpur administration, however, said that they had followed the legal procedure in place and issued prior notice to the mosque before removing the “encroachment.”
“We have not demolished the mosque,” additional district magistrate of Fatehpur Avinash Tripathi said, adding that only a part of the construction that was “obstructing” the road widening was demolished.
He said the management of the mosque had previously removed some shops from the site after being served notice by the Public Works Department.
“Removing this had become inevitable. Because this was coming in the alignment of the road and this construction was carried out in recent years,” Tripathi said.
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While the caretakers of the mosque alleged that the building was demolished all of a sudden, the administration said the PWD department had served them notice in August. Notice was served to 139 persons asking them to remove the “illegal construction” work falling in the alignment of the road, said Tripathi.
The official added that in September they had also run a drive removing shops and houses that came in the way of the road. “Sufficient time was given to them after serving notice,” ADM Tripathi said in response to the mosque’s allegations that the administration came to demolish the construction even before their objections could be heard in the high court.
The petition filed by the Noori Masjid was to come up in the high court on December 6 but it was later listed for December 13.
Tripathi also said that PWD officials had been in regular touch with the caretakers of the mosque after serving them notice. “The district administration gave them prior notice with plenty of time. They had full knowledge of the matter from the start,” he said.
Tripathi said that an analysis of the historical satellite images of the mosque showed that the additional construction had come up in the last two-three years and had encroached on the road.
Vijay Shanker Mishra, Additional Superintendent of Police, Fatehpur said the demolition was carried out amid heavy deployment of police force. Five circle officers, 10 station house officers, 200 constables, one company of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and one platoon of the anti-riot Rapid Action Force were deployed, he said.
