Sanjauli Mosque dispute: Pace of demolition too slow for sanatani tastes

A day after the Sanjauli Mosque Committee started demolishing three storeys of the mosque here on the municipal court's order, the Devbhoomi Sangarsh Samiti, which was protesting against the alleged illegal structure, claimed the pace of work was "slow".

DSS co-convener Madan Thakur claimed only four sheets had been removed in a day's work on Monday, 21 October.

"The speed at which the demolition work is going on is a matter of concern. If the mosque committee is facing financial crunch to demolish the unauthorised structure, they can call the Sanatanis and we will not take a rupee. We will also get our food from our homes and will not even leave the debris there," he said.

He termed the demolition work being executed by the mosque committee a "drama".

He said the Muslim community cannot be trusted and the "Sanatanis should be prepared to boycott them socially, financially and politically".

The people of the state are also watching the role of the Congress government in the state, he added.

The demolition work started on Monday after the Waqf Board go-ahead. It came following the 5 October orders of the municipal commissioner's court, directing the Waqf Board and the Sanjauli mosque committee president to demolish three storeys of the five-storey structure in two months at their own cost.

The demolition started with the removal of the roof, amid tight police security.

The mosque's managing committee president, Muhammad Latif, told PTI on Tuesday, 22 October: "We have given the contract to remove the roof, which would be done in October, and the structure would be demolished in the time given by the court, or we would seek more time, as financial crunch is an issue."

"Funding is the main issue as neither the public nor the government would give money to demolish the structure and the mosque committee has to bear the expenses from its limited resources," Latif said.

He was part of a delegation which submitted a representation before the municipal court on 12 September, offering to demolish the allegedly unauthorised floors of the mosque, a day after 10 people were injured in a protest demanding the demolition of a portion of the mosque.

The call for the protest had come from the Devbhoomi Sangarsh Samiti.

DSS convener Bharat Bhushan said if the mosque committee is short of funds, they can approach the court, adding that the DSS was also "willing to support" the Muslim community in this task.

Bhushan also welcomed the Himachal Pradesh High Court decision directing the municipal commissioner's court to decide within eight weeks the 15-year-old case about the alleged illegal construction of Sanjauli mosque in Shimla.

The case dates back to 2010, and in its 46th hearing on 5 October, the municipal commissioner's court directed the Waqf Board and the president of the Sanjauli mosque committee to demolish three storeys of the five-storey disputed structure in two months, at their own cost — but the final verdict in the case is still awaited.

However, the All Himachal Muslims Organisation (AHMO) had said that they would challenge the order in the court of the appellate authority and take the matter to the Supreme Court.

Earlier, AHMO state spokesperson Nazakat Ali Hashmi said in a statement that the persons who gave the representation had no authority to make any such submission and the orders passed by the municipal commissioner's court were not based on facts.

He maintained that the land belonged to the Waqf Board, the mosque is 125 years old and the storeys are not illegal. The approval of maps is pending with the authorities and yet the municipal commissioner's court ordered demolition of the storeys, he alleged.