Day after Saharanpur demolition, well discovered at the spot where mosque stood

Day after Saharanpur demolition, well discovered at the spot where mosque stood District administration may ask ASI to estimate the age of the 20-ft deep and 1.5-metre-wide well.

Key points

• When the City Magistrate ordered its eviction within 30 days, the mosque had been declared an "unauthorised structure" in July.
• The well, covered by a stone slab, was discovered to be around 20 feet deep and 1.5 metres wide.
• Bulldozer action on Saharanpur mosque in UP, Samajwadi Party MP claims house arrest.
• Tanveer Ahmed, the mosque's Mutwali, alleged that the demolition had been carried out without due process.
• A digger (bulldozer) demolishes the mosque inside the Saharanpur collectorate (ANI screengrab/AI-enhanced).

Meanwhile, a digger (bulldozer) demolishes the mosque inside the Saharanpur collectorate (ANI screengrab/AI-enhanced).

Notably, a day after a mosque within the Saharanpur collectorate compound was demolished after a district court's ruling, district office-holders on Sunday noted that they identified a well beneath the debris.

Notably, the well, covered by a stone slab, was discovered to be around 20 feet deep and 1.5 metres wide.

Extra District Magistrate, Saharanpur, Santosh Bahadur Singh stated that as an earthmover was clearing the debris after the demolition of the mosque, it suddenly secured stuck on a slab. "Workers then used a cutter to break open the slab, revealing the well beneath, " the ADM remarked, adding that the administration was yet to decide on its next course of action.

At present, the well has been covered to prevent debris from falling in, and police teams have been deployed, and barricades have been put up to keep outsiders from entering the area.

In practice, the mosque was demolished three days after a district court dismissed an appeal against an earlier ruling that had declared the structure unauthorised, holding that it stood on administration land.

Vikas Tyagi, on whose complaint the district administration had conducted an inquiry into the mosque before filing a case in the City Magistrate's court, demanded that a detailed probe be carried out into the well as well. He demanded that an ASI team be called to ascertain what else might lie beneath the mosque.

When the City Magistrate ordered its eviction within 30 days, the mosque had been declared an "unauthorised structure" in July. The court additionally imposed a penalty of Rs 6.41 crore on the "illegal occupants" for the unauthorised occupation of the 315-square-metre parcel of administration land, an order passed under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972.

Congress MP from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, described the demolition as a "black day" for the individuals of Saharanpur, alleging that authorities had surrounded residents from all sides, confined them to their homes, and razed the mosque. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

Taken together, the developments around day after Saharanpur demolition, well discovered at the spot where mosque stood point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.