Mosque demolished under Dahod Smart City, know what the mosque committee said?
What did the committee say?
According to officials, under the Smart City project, the mosque committee was asked to submit land record documents by Friday, but the committee failed to do so.
A mosque was demolished under the Smart City project in Dahod, Gujarat on Saturday amid tight security. Officials say the Nagina Mosque, located near Bhagini Samaj on Station Road, was demolished by two bulldozers at around 4.30 am amidst peaceful atmosphere. However, apart from 450 police personnel, officials from Dahod province, the chief officer of Dahod Municipality, two deputy superintendents of police, 20 senior police officers and a unit of the State Reserve Police Force were deployed for security during this period.
Mosque committee did not have land papers
According to officials, the mosque committee was asked to submit land record documents by Friday under the Smart City project. However, the mosque committee failed to submit any documents by the stipulated time and this action has been taken after that. Currently, the mosque committee has moved the High Court.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the Dahod Superintendent of Police said, “Earlier, the mosque trust had sought time till Friday to submit the land records. The administration accepted the mosque committee’s request. But the records submitted by the mosque committee on Friday were not correct.
A meeting was held with the mosque members on Friday evening by the sub-divisional magistrate, provincial officer, municipal chief officer and DSP in which the trust members agreed to vacate the premises if given the option to vacate the mosque. The administration said that we do not need to enter the mosque as they have already vacated it, now the deployment will continue but we do not expect any trouble as the community members have not raised any objection.
What did the mosque committee say?
A member of the mosque committee told The Indian Express, “We were informed by the administration on Monday We were told that the documents would have to be submitted by Friday or the mosque would be demolished after Friday prayers. So we were asked to move on Friday afternoon. “The contents of the mosque are yet to be filed in the Gujarat High Court during the ongoing summer vacation. The trust will approach the court to maintain the status quo after the demolition as the mosque was a waqf property and such action also requires the approval of the waqf board.
The Nagina Masjid Dahod Trust told the Gujarat High Court that the mosque is considered a waqf property. It said that the mosque has been standing on a part of the trust’s land since 1926 which was registered in 1953. The trust also told the court that there are some shops which have now been demolished and are present on other parts of the land, which were leased by the trust and the waqf over the years.
The trust told the court that under the Gujarat Municipalities Act, notices were issued to the shops allegedly encroaching near the mosque, which were demolished on May 15. Meanwhile Bulldozers were driven on other such shops in the vicinity for which no notice was even given.
Trust not given notice
According to the Nagina Masjid Dahod Trust, no official notice was even given to the trust to demolish the mosque, they were only informally instructed by the authorities. and other venerable articles can be removed from the mosque. The mosque will be demolished after Friday evening prayers by Friday 19/05/2023. The trust further said that the mosque is safe and cannot be demolished, especially as doing so is a violation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. provisions. The trust also said that since the mosque is a Waqf property, no action can be taken without the permission of the Waqf Board. However, District Collector Harshit Gosavi was not available for comment.
Courtesy – Reference is made to an interview given to The Indian Express, all rights reserved by The Indian Express.
