LUCKNOW: An Eidgah and an Imambara were razed down using four bulldozers amid heavy police deployment in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday morning.
According to the administration, the Eidgah was built over about seven bighas of grazing land, while the Imambara had been constructed on land meant for a manure pit.
As per the police sources, police personnel from five stations and one company of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were deployed at the site. Villagers who gathered at the spot were removed due to fear of possible protest.
Following complaints from villagers, Lekhpal Sparsh Gupta filed an appeal in the Tehsildar court on January 18, this year. On January 31, a notice was published in newspapers as per court orders, asking any occupants to come forward. However, no one responded.
On Thursday morning around 7:30 am, SDM Nidhi Patel and Naib Tehsildar Deepak Kumar Jurail reached the site with a team. Some people were seen trying to demolish the Imambara using chisels and hammers, but the administration removed them. The incident took place in Bicholi village under the Kotwali Sambhal police station area.
Around 12 noon, Rajendra Pensiya and Krishna Kumar Vishnoi also reached the site. They reviewed the report on the demolition of the structures from police and administrative teams and issued necessary instructions.
Reacting to the district administrations’ action, Zubaida, a local villager, said that the demolition action should be stopped. She stated that the Imambara and Eidgah were used by everyone in the area, and even wedding processions of poor families used to stay there.
She said that if the law was equal for everyone, such action would be applicable to temples too.
Zubaida added that if the construction on government land is a crime, then illegally built temples should also face action, not only mosques.