Gujarat: Shopkeepers evicted from mosque premises in Rajkot; trustee, 8 others arrested

The shops are situated on the ground floor of Nawab Mosque in Danapith area, just a few hundred metres from ‘A’ Division police station, where the FIR was filed.

Complainant Virendra Kotecha stated in his FIR that Musani had cited a Gujarat State Waqf Board order asking the mosque trust to take possession of the shops. Kotecha told mediapersons on New Year’s eve that his family had been running the shop since 1962, and no prior notice was served to him by the trust.

Jagdish Bangarwa, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone-2, Rajkot, said that since the rent agreement was several decades old, the amount being paid by the families was around Rs 170, which was not feasible for the trust. They received the order from the Waqf Board and then evicted the renters forcibly, which was an illegal act, he added.

State Waqf Board member Asif Salot is said to have signed the eviction order.

Based on Kotecha’s complaint, Rajkot Police registered an FIR on January 1 against Musani and others under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 329(4) (criminal trespass) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation), said DCP Bangarwa. They were arrested the same day.

Police on Friday conducted a reconstruction of the events of the day of the eviction.

“All the shops have reopened and the accused arrested. We will not allow people to be harassed due to any illegal activity,” said Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi in a post on X.

Talking to The Indian Express, Gujarat Wakq Board Chairman Dr Mohsin Lokhandwala said, “The mosque trustee had not followed proper procedures of eviction. They should have given three notices at different time intervals to tenants, requesting them to evict the premises. If the tenants do not act, the trustee should give an application to nearby police. The tenants should be removed in police presence.”

He further said, “If there is an issue of less rent for the shops, the trust should make a new lease agreement with the tenants. The trustees should not take law in their hands and evict the tenants. We have told our Wakf Board member Salot to give detailed information about the issue to enable us to take appropriate action against the trustees.”

-With inputs from ENS, Surat