New Delhi: It was the sound of bulldozers at Akhunji Masjid, a 13th-century mosque in Mehrauli that lay some 400 metres from the Qutub Minar, that woke up Imam Zakir Hussain at the crack of dawn Tuesday. “There were a total of 10 bulldozers,” Hussain, who’s been associated with the mosque for 14 years, told ThePrint.
Within hours, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is responsible for developing commercial land in the national capital, had razed the entire premises — not just the shrine but also the Bahrul Uloom madrassa that was home to 25 children. A graveyard on the premises was also allegedly razed.
The children, most of them orphans, were taken to the woods nearby and ordered to remain there in the cold until the drive was over, Hussain said.
“They demolished everything. No notice was served,” Hussain said, as he surveyed the barricades on the road leading to the mosque. “The official confiscated my phone before I could inform others about what was happening.”
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