Delhi: Without Court order part of 250 YO mosque demolished by NDMC (Muslim Mirror)

A joint encroachment removal drive was conducted by the Land And Development Office (L&DO), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), and North Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) in New Delhi’s Bengali Market on Tuesday, during which a boundary wall of a mosque was demolished.

“The mosque was not touched. It was just a boundary wall that was demolished because it was an illegal encroachment,” sources told PTI.

Security personnel were present in large numbers during the encroachment removal drive.

“A joint encroachment removal drive was being conducted at Plot no. 205, Bengali Market by L&DO, CPWD and NDMC,” said Pranav Tayal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi.

Officials have stated that the demolition occurred at approximately 6:30 am and involved the removal of one of the boundary walls. They have claimed that the “illegal structure” was built on an encroached area a few months prior.

However, the mosque officials, have accused them of not providing any advance notice before initiating the operation.

An official said that “the mosque was demolished without a court order and the officials were adamant on demolishing the mosque and the Madrassa.”

He added that the Madrassa students were sleeping in the building when the authorities started to bulldoze it.

“We requested them to stop the demolition but they didn’t listen to us,” he said adding that students could’ve been injured in the process.

Chairman of the Delhi Waqf and Member Legislative Assembly, Amanatullah Khan, reached the place after the bulldozer action. He also alleged that due process was not followed and the mosque was being demolished on purpose.

“The mosque was being demolished without any court notice, the authorities should’ve followed due course of law if there was anything wrong with the structure,” he said while talking to reporters…

This story was originally published in muslimmirror.com. Read the full story here