India bulldozes Muslim shrine on BJP leaders’ complaint

ISLAMABAD: Authorities in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh demolished a Muslim shrine on Sunday, January 11, following an order by a local court that declared the structure an illegal encroachment on government land.

Officials said the district administration in Deoria used bulldozers to raze the Hazrat Shaheed Syed Abdul Gani Shah Baba shrine, which was located on barren government land on the Deoria–Gorakhpur Road. The operation was carried out under heavy police deployment to prevent any untoward incident.

According to the administration, the action followed directions from the Sadar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) court, which ruled that the land belonged to the government.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shruti Sharma said the demolition was conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures. “The situation in the area is completely normal,” she added.

The case dates back to 2019, when local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint alleging illegal construction on government land.

The demolition has sparked political and public reactions. Senior politician Swami Prasad Maurya, a former local minister, condemned the action, calling it “extremely unfortunate” and saying it had hurt the religious sentiments of both Muslims and Hindus in the region.

Journalist Wasim Akram Tyagi also criticized the demolition, questioning what he described as selective action against minority places of worship, while alleging that numerous religious structures belonging to the majority community exist on government land across the state without facing similar measures.

The Uttar Pradesh administration, however, maintains that the demolition was a legal enforcement action carried out in compliance with a standing court order, and not targeted at any particular community.