NEW DELHI: A centuries-old mosque in Delhi’s Mehrauli district was abruptly demolished on Wednesday by officials from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) under heavy police presence, reports said.

The Akhonji mosque, which stood for over 600 years, was razed to the ground without any prior notice, the NewClick portal reported. It has left the local residents, mosque-goers, and the Madressah students shocked and in disbelief, it said.

In a video that surfaced online the mosque’s imam, Imam Zakir Hussain mourned the loss of the mosque and stated that it not only housed a madressah where students came to learn but also held the sacred graves of revered figures.

The demolition of the mosque and the Bahrul Uloom madressah allegedly took place just before the call to the morning prayers and caught the local residents and early day worshipers by surprise and shock.

The Imam has accused the DDA officials of being careful to remove the debris so as to hide signs of the demolition from the public.

The Imam further stated that the authorities did not even let anyone to salvage the copies of the Holy Quran before the demolition.

Not only were the sacred artefacts and books within the mosque desecrated, but officials also destroyed the belongings and properties, such as food and clothing items, of the 22 students studying at the madressah, the Imam said.

This shocking development comes only months after the DDA had expressly told a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula at the Delhi High Court that no mosque, graveyard, or legally owned Waqf property would be demolished by the authorities in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in response to a petition by the Delhi Waqf Board.

The demolition comes in the line of various incidents where various state governments have selectively carried out demolitions of properties owned by Muslims.

Recently as per a video posted by Hate Detector on the social media site, X, released in which the Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, can be seen boasting about having conducted 50,000 demolitions of homes in the state and expressed that Assam does not get as much “publicity.”

The demolition came as the Varanasi District Administration on February 1 ensured compliance of Varanasi Court order, allowing Hindu devotees to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

The permission was granted as the Muslim side said it would move to approach the Allahabad High Court to challenge the Varanasi Court’s decision. Lawyer Akhlaq Ahmed said: “We will approach the Allahabad High Court against the decision. The order has overlooked the Advocate Commissioner report of 2022, ASI’s report, and the decision of 1937, which was in our favour. Hindu side has not placed any evidence that prayers were held before 1993. There is no such idol in the place.”

Advocate Merajuddin Siddiqui said he would go to higher courts regarding this order. “I will not accept any such order. The District Magistrate and the District President are both working hand in glove. We will fight it legally. This is happening to get political advantage. The same approach is being adopted, which was done in the Babri Masjid case. The Commissioner’s report and ASI’s report earlier said that nothing was inside. We are very unhappy with the decision,” Merajuddin Siddiqui said.

He further said that there is no evidence that prayers were held before 1993.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2024