Shimla mosque row: Massive security deployed ahead of protest

Shimla, Sep 11 (IANS) Massive police build-up was made in the Himachal Pradesh capital on Wednesday to prevent untoward incidents owing to a protest call by Hindu outfits over the five-storeyed structure of a mosque in the densely populated Sanjauli area. 

As a precaution, the local administration has imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita of 2023 which bars the assembly of more than five people without permission and the carrying of lethal weapons and arms.

Over 1,000 police personnel along with the Quick Response Team have been deployed in the Sanjauli area, officials said.

Also, all the entry points to the city have been barricaded with the deployment of police personnel to prevent entry of miscreants.

To maintain peace, the administration has banned holding any kind of protest and procession in Sanjauli and nearby areas until noon.

The Hindu organisations have been demanding the demolition of unauthorised constructions in the mosque and the registration of outsiders coming to the state.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the people have the right to protest peacefully but there should be no damage to anyone from any community.

He appealed to the people not to give a political colour and to maintain law and order.

Hindu outfits in Shimla staged a massive protest last week after days of simmering dissent.

Holding the Tricolour, the protesters comprising BJP activists and others had demanded the demolition of the structure, claiming that the Waqf Board illegally occupied the land and built a mosque on it.

The protesters have been demanding that the antecedents of the local Muslims should be verified by the police to know their origin as they suspect some of them to be Rohingyas or Bangladeshis.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner’s court on Saturday heard the matter relating to an illegal portion of the mosque and listed the matter for the next hearing on October 5.

Rahul Sharma, appearing for the civic body, told the media, “This is a case of illegal construction. The Waqf Board has been made a party to this so we have filed for a reply. They submitted their answers.”

The Waqf Board, in its reply, said the land on which the mosque stands belongs to it and the extended construction was carried out in line with the rules. However, it failed to provide documents that authorised it to raise the structure.

--IANS

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