ASI team to inspect 20-foot well found after mosque demolition in Saharanpur

A 20-foot-deep well discovered after a mosque was demolished at the Saharanpur Collectorate complex will be inspected by an Archaeological Survey of India team. The demolition has triggered political controversy, with Opposition leaders questioning the action and the BJP defending its legality

Saharanpur: Officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have been called to inspect a 20-foot-deep well, which was discovered following the demolition of a mosque located within the Saharanpur Collectorate complex in Uttar Pradesh.

The demolition took place on Saturday after the Muslim side’s appeal was rejected by the court.

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Speaking to IANS, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) (Sadar) Subodh Kumar said: “In accordance with the court’s order, demolition of the building has been carried out. Subsequently, a well has been discovered here which will be investigated by a team of ASI; only after that will we be able to speak about it.”

“The Archaeological Survey of India team will arrive and investigate this well,” he reiterated.

Police and administrative officials are currently present at the site, and the well has been covered up.

A controversy erupted following the demolition of the mosque. While the Opposition leaders are questioning the legality and timing of the action, the BJP maintained that the demolition was carried out strictly in accordance with law after the courts rejected the Muslim side’s appeal.

Speaking to IANS on Sunday, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput said: “Any 100-year-old building cannot be illegal; this is clear.”

He complained that the demolition was carried out without giving time to the affected party to approach the Supreme Court, “despite the right being granted by the Constitution”.

“They were not even permitted to go to the High Court,” he said

Rajput accused the ruling alliance of attempting to create “communal divisions” to divert attention from serious matters.

“In the darkness of the night, that mosque was demolished at the behest of the government and administration. The Bharatiya Janata Party wants to create communal tension and polarisation between Hindus and Muslims. This is our clear allegation,” he stated.

However, JD-U National General Secretary Shyam Rajak said that if a building is made illegally, law takes precedence over religion.

“If mosques, temples, or churches are built in violation of the rules, the government acts according to the Constitution and the law. If anything is done against the rules, the law takes precedence over religion and faith. That is why any demolition done in accordance with the law should be welcomed,” he told IANS.

A day earlier, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind National President Arshad Madani had remarked that bulldozers being used for demolition of allegedly illegal properties are increasingly becoming “less a symbol of justice and more an instrument of the politics of revenge, prejudice, and hatred”.