BIJNOR: The Uttar Pradesh administration on Saturday demolished a madrasa in Jebra village in Amroha after complaints from "non-Muslims" in the village that "namaz was being read over a loudspeaker". The local administration also said that the madrasa was "illegally built on government land seven months ago".
The manager of the madrasa, Ishtiyak Ahmed, refuted this charge of the administration and said the structure was built on the land of his grandfather who received it from the gram sabha in 1961. He said he had all the documents as proof.
An official said, "The non-Muslim population in the area were objecting to the namaz being played on loudspeaker in the madrasa and took the matter to the district administration, which then instructed madrasa authorities not to hold prayers there. However, they continued to offer namaz there despite warnings. Later, after investigation, the district authorities also found that the religious structure was built on government land."
SDM Sudhir Kumar said, "The madrasa was built without permission. The villagers had permission only for cattle rearing but they started offering namaz there. When the revenue department probed the matter thoroughly, it was found that the structure was built on the gram sabha's land. We have razed it on the order of the district magistrate."
On Saturday, three bulldozers were brought in the presence of a huge police force and Hasanpur sub-division magistrate Sudhir Kumar, and the structure was demolished.
