By Gafira Qadir
At 6 am on Tuesday, the tranquil silence of northwest Delhi’s Mangolpuri was broken by the rumble of bulldozers and the raised voices of residents.
Against the backdrop of the rising sun, the area surrounding the mosque in Y Block buzzed with unusual tension. A large mob including women protesters gathered around the mosque, forming a protective circle and objecting to the demolition of their place of worship.
Protests erupted as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), accompanied by local police and paramilitary personnel, initiated the demolition of portions of the mosque, citing alleged encroachment.
The demolition immediately drew resistance from locals who began protesting. Reportedly, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Jimmy Chiram confirmed that while some people objected to the demolition, the situation was brought under control.
“We protested because it’s a mosque. How can a mosque, which is sacred, be demolished? What’s wrong with the government?”, said Humaira, 24, who was there at the time of the demolition. “People are just praying there and have been praying for years.”
“Nobody told us to come and protect the mosque. We heard the bulldozer’s noise and ran there,” she added.
Another resident Thabassum Fatima, 21, who was also there at the time of the incident, told Maktoob: “This is the government’s norm nowadays. Send bulldozers to Muslim houses and mosques and demolish them.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
