DEHRADUN: Tension over the sealing of Jama Masjid in Dehradun’s Thano area escalated on Friday, with the Muslim Sewa Sangathan staging a protest march to the District Magistrate’s office and demanding the immediate reopening of the religious site.
The mosque was sealed three days ago by the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) following an inquiry into alleged irregularities in construction and land-related documents.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from local residents and the Muslim Sewa Sangathan, which termed the action “one-sided” and sought a high-level impartial probe.
A large number of Sangathan members and local residents marched to the DM office, raising slogans against the government and the administration. The protesters alleged that the sealing had hurt the religious sentiments of thousands of people who have been offering prayers at the mosque for decades.
Speaking to TNIE, Muslim Sewa Sangathan president Naem Ahmed Qureshi said, “Jama Masjid in Thano has been a centre of faith for local people for years. Sealing a religious place without prior notice, dialogue, or any alternative process is not only improper but has also deeply hurt the sentiments of the community.”
Qureshi alleged that the action had created “a sense of insecurity and resentment” in the area. Reacting sharply to the move, he described it as “arbitrary” and claimed it reflected “the mental unsoundness of the system.”
He further said that the matter involved construction carried out through a government department. “A fund of Rs 3.30 crore was sanctioned by the Minority Department, Uttarakhand, out of which only Rs 8.03 lakh was allocated for Thano Jama Masjid for the construction of a room. The room was constructed by the Peyjal Vibhag, not by the mosque committee,” Qureshi said.
He claimed that, as per the government order, the responsibility for obtaining approval of the building plan from the competent authority rested with the concerned department before undertaking construction. “The responsibility to get the plan sanctioned lay with the Peyjal Vibhag, not with the mosque committee. Despite this, the MDDA has sealed a room constructed by a government department. This is unjust and must be investigated,” he added.
Sangathan vice-president Aqib Qureshi said that if there was any dispute related to land or construction, the administration should have resolved it through legal notice, public hearing and dialogue. “Sealing a religious place should be the last option, not the first step,” he said.
He claimed that prayers have been offered at the mosque since 1988 and that the site has been recorded as a mosque in settlement records since 1992.
Yasar Arafat, the Imam of the mosque who has been serving there for the past four years, said he was deeply distressed by the administration’s action.
“The administration sealed the mosque unilaterally, and the action is completely illegal,” he told TNIE.
MDDA officials, however, have maintained that the action was taken after mosque representatives allegedly failed to produce the valid documents sought by the authority. Several Hindu organisations had also been opposing the structure, prompting the authority to examine the matter before sealing the premises.
