Rebuild Another Mosque: Locals As 600-Year-Old Mosque Razed In Delhi

A week after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) razed a 600-year-old mosque in Sanjay Van in south Delhi's Mehrauli, locals have demanded that the agency rebuild another mosque at the same site.

The Akhoondji mosque as well as the Behrul Uloom madrasa was demolished by the DDA on January 30 for being an "illegal structure" in Sanjay Van.

The DDA has defended its action before the high court on the ground that the demolition took place pursuant to the recommendations of the Religious Committee dated January 4.

The residents claimed a cemetery was also demolished during the drive.

Fauzan Ahmed Siddiqui, a member of the management committee of Dargah Qutub Sahan in Mehrauli, said that nobody the area where the mosque, madrasa and cemetery were demolished has been barricaded and no one is allowed to go inside.

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to maintain status quo with respect to the land in Mehrauli where a mosque, stated to be over six centuries old, was demolished last month.

The court, while listing the matter for further hearing on February 12, stated that the DDA shall maintain status quo over the site where the Akhoondji mosque was located.

Regarding the recommendation from the Religious Committee, Siddiqui said the (DDA) should have gone to the court for a decision on the matter.

He demanded that people be allowed to enter the cemetery area.

"If someone dies today, where do we take him? There is already a lack of a cemeteries. The madrasa, graveyards and the mosque were demolished without giving any prior intimation," he said.

"It is being told that a notice was received from the revenue department on January 2. The religious committee meeting was held on January 4 and later no one received any notice. They came and gave a notice one hour before the demolition and told the people present there to remove their belongings," he added.

Israr Ali, general secretary of Akhoondji mosque, said the property is in the gazette of Waqf board.

"The Waqf board has this property in its gazette. There were around 25 children in the madrasa who have been shifted to nearby madrasas. In 1994, the mosque came under Sanjay Van protected area which covers 738 acres of land," Ali said.

Siddiqui, however, said, "If there was encroachment, it does not mean that you will raze the entire mosque. Encroachment had to be removed. There is a difference between an encroachment and a structure. We demand that the demarcation should be done along with the fencing. The cemetery should be opened and the mosque should be rebuilt at that place and given protection by the Waqf board," he said.

Siddiqui added that the Akhoondji mosque was very old and renovated around 100 years ago.

Nasir Ali, who is digging graves at the cemetery since 1976, alleged, "The demolition took place around 5 am. There were several orphan children who lived in the madrasa. They were made to stand outside. The officials took away the mobile phone of the Imam during the drive." The high court's order on Monday came on a plea by the managing committee of the Delhi Waqf Board which has argued that the demolition of the mosque was illegal.

The waqf counsel urged the court to direct maintenance of status quo on the site.

The decision to raze the mosque, DDA stated, was taken after the Religious Committee afforded an opportunity of hearing to the CEO of Delhi Waqf Board.

The petitioner contended that the Religious Committee has no jurisdiction to order any demolition action.

On January 31, the court asked the DDA to file its response clearly setting out the action that has been taken in respect of the property concerned as well as its basis.

It also asked the DDA to state whether any prior notice was given before undertaking the demolition action.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)