Srinagar/Dehradun: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Sunday claimed people were not allowed to pray in the privacy of their homes in Uttarakhand's capital city Dehrdaun, referring to protests by a right-wing group over an alleged bid to convert two houses in a residential colony into a mosque.
"People aren't allowed to pray in the privacy of their own homes & yet our leaders insist that 'India is free of any religious discrimination'," he posted on X. A report by Additional District Magistrate Shiv Kumar Barnwal said a householder in Dehradun had raised the ceiling of the flats by 4-5 feet, removed the wall that served as a partition between the two flats, converted them into a single unit, and started using it as a mosque/madrasa.
The right-wing group Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) said Dehradun District Magistrate Sonika had ordered to seal the flats, but MDDA secretary Mohan Singh Barniya allowed the house owner one week's time to restore the accommodation to its original form. Krishna Bora, president, Uttarakhand unit of the Hindu Jagran Manch, said his outfit has demanded cancellation of the 99-year lease of the allottee for violating norms and the suspension of MDDA secretary Barniya for protecting the flat owner despite the charges against him being 'true'.
The HJM and the Devbhoomi Raksha Manch also burnt effigies of the MDDA (Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority) secretary and demonstrated outside the secretariat on Friday in support of its demands. "Dehradun DM Sonika had the matter examined by the ADM who found the charges to be true. She ordered to seal the flats in question, but the MDDA secretary has not allowed it," Bora told PTI. "We demand the 99-year lease of the flats be cancelled as MDDA rules have been violated and the MDDA secretary suspended for protecting the allottee," he added. (PTI)
