AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The demolition of the mosque located within the Saharanpur district administration premises in Uttar Pradesh, India, was not limited to the destruction of the building but also led to political and legal disputes between the local government and opposition parties. Iqra Hasan, a Samajwadi Party MP in the Lok Sabha, emphasized that she was placed under house arrest at her home at the time of the operation.
Iqra Hasan, a Muslim MP from the Samajwadi Party representing the Kairana constituency, said police forces had been deployed outside her home in the Kirana area of Uttar Pradesh since the previous night to prevent her travel to Saharanpur. She stated that she had intended to go to Saharanpur to meet with government officials regarding the mosque issue and to express the concerns of her constituency's residents, but was not allowed to leave her home. Hasan said, "A large police force has been stationed outside my home in Kirana since last night, and I have been placed under house arrest to prevent me from going to Saharanpur."
The Indian MP also protested the authorities' handling of the mosque case, saying that after the lower court's ruling, the entire mosque was sealed and its surroundings were blocked with security barriers. According to her, these actions were taken while she intended, as the people's representative, to convey their concerns to government officials.
Meanwhile, Imran Masood, a Congress party MP from Saharanpur, described the mosque demolition as a "black day" for the people of the region and stated that government forces had surrounded people from all sides and confined some to their homes. Emphasizing the continuation of legal pursuit, he said, "We will fight this battle... as long as necessary, in the High Court and the Supreme Court."
Masood also made comments about the history and legal status of the mosque that differ from the narrative of local officials. He said the mosque existed before 1911, and its ownership is still recorded in documents under the names of "Wahid Khan" and "Yaqub Khan," the landowners who owned the property at the time of its construction. The Congress MP also emphasized that the Waqf Board was not a party to the case and that the statute of limitations was not considered.
Masood's reaction to the state government's performance extended to explicit criticism of its policies. In this regard, he said, "No Hindu will be happy about this. No other person will be happy when someone's place of worship is demolished." He went on to sharply criticize the government, saying, "Their only 'achievement' is that they shot Muslims, shot them in the legs, demolished their homes, brought bulldozers against their houses, and destroyed their religious schools—that's it."
In response, Abhishek Singh, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in Saharanpur, claimed that the mosque was built illegally on government land according to judicial authorities, and that the actions taken were for the sake of public order. However, Tanvir Ahmed, the mosque's caretaker, had emphasized that the court's ruling only concerned evacuation and did not explicitly order demolition, a claim on which the mosque management committee intends to appeal the demolition to the High Court.
It is worth noting that the demolition of mosques has intensified in India over the past two months, with dozens of mosques, religious schools, Eidgahs, and shrines being demolished in several states, a matter that has been accompanied by legal and civil reactions and concerns.
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