Fatehpur court orders removal of encroachments from govt land ‘illegally occupied to build mosque’

Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have been raising the issue, demanding to demolish the mosque built on government land. In July, they had even organised a Hindu panchayat over the issue.

An office-bearer of the Sunni Madina Masjid Committee, which manages the mosque, said they would decide whether to file an appeal against the order or not after holding consultations with their senior members.

“The mosque was built in the 1970s on the land allotted by the gram sabha and a fee was deposited at that time. Since then, regular renovations have been carried out but no new construction has taken place. False allegations are being made that we are extending the mosque by acquiring nearby areas. The district administration had previously conducted a survey following a complaint and confirmed that the land was indeed allotted for the mosque,” said Chhedi Ali, a mosque committee member.

He added, “Last month, we received a notice from the lekhpal’s court. We submitted a detailed reply stating that the land was allotted and that the mosque was registered with the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board in 2020. We will file an appeal against the order after consultations.”

Ali said the mosque serves the local community as well as residents from five neighboring villages. Malwan village has a predominantly Hindu population of 4,500.

Village pradhan Ramroop said, “The mosque was built over four decades ago and is located next to a pond. There are allegations that the mosque was extended after the pond was filled in. The district administration conducted a survey, but I am unaware of its findings. Members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal have been raising the issue, and last month they protested, demanding the demolition of the mosque.”

Fatehpur Lekhpal Sevak Lal said that the committee overseeing the mosque was formed in 2019, and it was only then that they became aware of the mosque. “We received a complaint alleging that the mosque was built on government land, which was forwarded to us by senior officers. An inquiry was conducted and it was found that the mosque was built on around 220 square metres of gram sabha land. We submitted the inquiry report in the court which issued an order to remove the encroachment from the land on which the mosque is built.”

The court directed the lekhpal to remove the encroachments with help from police and submit a report soon, it is learnt.
VHP’s district office-bearer Shailesh Singh said, “We have been raising the issue of the mosque being built on government land since 2006. We submitted petitions to the authorities to take action, but nothing was done. Eventually, we held a panchayat to draw attention to the matter, and later submitted a memorandum to senior authorities.”