Fatehpur: A part of the 185-year-old Noori Jamia Masjid in Lalouli town’s Sadar Bazaar in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district was demolished for alleged encroachment on Tuesday morning.
The demolition, carried out under a highway widening project, was supervised by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Avinash Tripathi and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vijay Shankar Mishra. Heavy police forces, including PAC personnel, were deployed for security during the operation.
The Public Works Department (PWD) had issued a notice on September 24, 2024, to the mosque committee regarding encroachments. The committee had sought a one-month extension to remove the encroachment. The survey also identified 133 houses and shops as encroachments.
Over a month later, officials proceeded with demolishing the mosque’s rear portion on Tuesday morning, stating that “no stay order had been received from the High Court.”
“The action was necessary for the Banda-Hamirpur highway expansion project,” ADM Tripathi said.
Meanwhile, mosque committee secretary, Syed Noori criticized the move, stating, “We had filed a writ petition against the notice in the Allahabad High Court. The next hearing is scheduled for December 13. However, the demolition occurred before the hearing, violating court directives,” he said. The mosque's management committee chief claimed that the Noori Masjid in Lalauli town was constructed in 1839 while the road around it came up only in 1956.
The mosque’s rear 150-square-foot section was marked for removal under the PWD’s plan. Despite the committee approaching the High Court, no stay was granted, prompting authorities to proceed with the demolition.
ASP Vijay Shankar Mishra said that peace prevailed during the operation, adding that the drive strictly targeted the encroachment without disturbing public order.
The Public Works Department (PWD) had, in connection with the widening of Banda-Bahraich Highway No. 13, given a notice to remove some parts of the mosque due to their "illegal construction" but the mosque management did not implement it, according to officials.
"About 20 metres of Noori Masjid, which was obstructing the widening of Banda-Bahraich Highway No. 13, was demolished by a bulldozer on Tuesday in the presence of officials and now its debris is being removed," Lalauli police station in-charge Inspector Vrindavan Rai told PTI on Tuesday.
In response to a question, he said, "Law and order remains strong. All shops within a radius of about 200 metres around the mosque have been closed and an area of 300 metres radius has been sealed." Lalauli town virtually turned into a police cantonment during the demolition exercise due to a heavy deployment of security personnel. The precautionary step comes in the backdrop of incidents of communal tension and opposition to demolition action by authorities in the state.
Rai said police and Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed in every nook and corner of Lalauli town to maintain law and order. He said that the PWD had given a notice to the Masjid Management Committee on August 17, 2024, to remove some part of the mosque, but it did not implement it themselves.
Mutawalli (chief) of Noori Masjid Management Committee Mohammad Moin Khan alias Bablu Khan said that his advocate Syed Azimuddin has filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court against demolishing any part of the mosque and the plea is to be heard on December 12.
"The Noorie Mosque of Lalauli was built in 1839 and the road here was constructed in 1956, yet the Public Works Department is calling some parts of the mosque illegal," he said. (With agency inputs)
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