Meerut: A dispute has emerged over a mosque here, with authorities alleging the shrine was constructed on a police station land while the mosque management maintains the structure was built on a Waqf property.
Police said a seven-day notice has been served to the mosque’s imam seeking ownership documents and removal of the purported encroachment.
According to police, a revenue department survey found that the Jama Masjid, locally known as the “Thane Wali Masjid” and situated within Kharkhoda Police Station premises, had allegedly been built on police station land.
Following the survey, police sought ownership-related documents from the mosque’s imam Abdul Ghaffar. However, officials claimed that no valid records had been produced till Sunday evening, June 14.
Mosque management says it is on Waqf land
The mosque management, however, rejected the allegations saying the land had been recorded in the name of the Waqf Board, and documentary evidence supporting the claim had already been submitted to the police.
Police said the Kharkhoda Police Station, located on the Meerut-Bulandshahr road, dates back to the pre-Independence era and revenue records show 6,450 square metres of land under Khasra number 1217 registered in the name of the police station for several decades.
Authorities alleged that the mosque was later constructed by encroaching upon a portion of this land.
Kithore Circle Officer Pramod Kumar Singh said the revenue department’s report identified the land as part of the police station premises.
“As part of the legal process, a notice has been issued to the imam asking him to remove the alleged unauthorised construction and submit relevant documents within seven days,” Singh said.
Kharkhoda Station House Officer Rajpal Singh told PTI that the notice was served on Saturday, June 13, and a seven-day period had been provided for a response.
“No reply to the notice has been received so far,” he said.
