UP administration demolishes 150-yr-old masjid claiming encroachment
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Fatehpur/UP: Claiming encroachment, the local administration of Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh started demolition of the 185-year-old historic Noori Masjid. The administration claimed that the mosques obstructed the widening of the Banda Bahraich road, the State Highway-13, Siasat reported.
It was on Tuesday that the demolition began, and a portion was razed down, already using bulldozers, while heavy police security was deployed at the site.
According to the district administration of Fatehpur, the mosque management committee did not respond or pay heed to two notices served to it claiming encroachment.
However, the mosque committee approached the Allahabad High Court and filed a petition stating that the mosque had been built before the construction of the road. Challenging the demolition, the committee pleaded that it should not be considered as the mosque encroaching on the road.
The petition requested the court to order a stoppage to the demolition process. The mosque committee also sought the court an order from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to assess the status of the mosque and take a decision in protecting it under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, Siasat reports.
Reports suggest that the court will hear the matter on December 13.
The fresh incident of razing down the mosque has sparked outrage among Muslims since it is the latest of a series of similar incidents against places of worship of Muslims in the region.