Heavy security is in place ahead of the Uttarkashi Mahapanchayat after the district administrator gets permission
News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 1st December 2024
Heavy security was deployed around the Ram Leela Maidan in Uttarkashi on Sunday morning as people began to arrive for a’mahapanchayat’ organized by Hindutva groups to press their demand to demolish a decades-old mosque that they claim was built illegally.
The Uttarkashi district administration has approved the mahapanchayat, which will take place later on Sunday. This comes only days after the Uttarakhand administration told the High Court on Wednesday that no permission had been provided for the event. The next court hearing on the subject was set for December 5.
The district government granted permission to the mahapanchayat on various conditions, including not uttering hate speech, not holding demonstrations, not impeding traffic, not inciting religious sentiments, and keeping the calm.On Saturday night, police crews evaluated the preparations. “Chalo Uttarkashi” posters have been placed in various areas throughout the grounds. On Wednesday, then-Uttarakashi SP Amit Srivastava stated that personnel were stationed around the mosque to preserve peace and order, and that the mahapanchayat would not be held in a public area. Srivastava was transferred that same day.
On November 24, while hearing the plea to prevent the scheduled mahapanchayat and guarantee proper security in the region, the Uttarakhand High Court urged the state to maintain strict security around the mosque. The petitioners, Mushraf Ali, president of the Alpsankhayak Seva Samiti, and Istiak Ahmed, claimed that the mosque and the Muslim community were the targets of hate-filled campaigns. According to them, the mosque, which was built in 1969 on acquired land and registered as Waqf property in 1987, has suffered baseless accusations of illegality from certain organizations.
The petitioners alleged that on August 27, the District Magistrate’s office gave misleading information under the RTI Act, indicating that no Nazul, freehold, or leased property was registered in the mosque’s name. On September 6, a gathering was staged in Uttarkashi, where they allegedly circulated falsehoods about the mosque being on government land. Protesters from groups such as the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharm Raksha Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad sought the mosque’s demolition, making comments that the petitioners deemed inflammatory. The groups then issued a three-day ultimatum to the administration to comply with their requests.
The Sanyukt Sanatan Dharm Raksha Sangh, a coalition of several groups, submitted a memorandum to DM Meherban Singh Bisht on September 9, claiming that the mosque was not mentioned in revenue records and should be demolished. In response, the DM formed a committee, led by SDM Bhatwari, to investigate the allegations. The committee concluded that the mosque was legitimately erected and did not intrude on government territory. However, the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharm Rakshak Sangh opposed the committee’s findings, claiming that the mosque was illegal and should be dismantled.
