The Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district authorities demolished a 40-year-old madrasa (Muslim religious school) in Bakhuwa village on Thursday, December 26.
The demolition was carried out in the presence of a huge police force from Sadarpur station and deputy tehsildar Dinanath Yadav, following a complaint from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashish Chaudhary.
Authorities justified the demolition action ordered by SDM, Shikha Shukla, stating that the “madrasa, named Islamia Anwarul Uloom was built illegally on government land meant for a threshing ground and had no registration or official recognition.”
However, the madrasa despite being established four decades ago had never been through the legal registration process. The case took a serious twist in 2018 when the court directed that the madrasa be closed down. However, due to various delays, and a lack of the authorities’ firm stand the madrasa remained open.
Some residents said the madrasa has been operational for years. However, the absence of formal recognition had put it in a vulnerable legal situation, Clarion reported.
One of the founders of the madrasa Samiuddin expressed his outrage over demolition stating, “Why is this happening only to our madrasa? Why doesn’t the government take similar action against other illegal constructions ?”.
“We were never informed about any legal issues. The government should have worked with us to resolve the situation rather than demolishing the madrasa in such an aggressive manner”, he added quoted by Clarion.
The bulldozer use especially in BJP-ruled states has become a highly controversial issue. Uttar Pradesh has carried out several demolition actions across the state under the banner of the anti-encroachment drive.
Earlier in November, the Supreme Court laid down pan-India guidelines on the demolition of properties and said the Executive cannot become a judge.
However, the court made it clear that its directions would not be applicable if there is unauthorised construction on public land or an order of demolition by a court of law.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Sayima Ahmad | 
