ANKARA:
On Sunday, local media outlets claimed that the Indian Railways had sent notifications to two major mosques in New Delhi, demanding them to remove “encroachments” within 15 days.
According to a report by the local news outlet India Today, the Indian Railways sent letters to two well-known mosques over the weekend, asserting ownership of the property on which the Masjid Bachchu Shah and the Masjid Takia Babbar Shah are built.
It read, “their land has been illegally encroached upon, and they are urging the concerned parties to voluntarily remove any unauthorized buildings, temples, mosques, or shrines constructed on their property.”
Railways have threatened to take legal action to reclaim its land if “encroachments are not removed within the stipulated timeframe.”
The persons at fault for the encroachments, not the railway administration, will be held liable for any losses caused during the procedure, the broadcaster stated.
Deepak Kumar, a spokesman for the Northern Railway, acknowledged the news reports.
Masjid Bachchu Shah and Masjid Takia Babbar Shah, according to the local controlling committee of the two mosques, were established centuries ago and are “historic.”
The Delhi Waqf Board, an organization charged with the upkeep of Islamic buildings, has also commented that the mosques were constructed decades ago and that the issue is “sub-judice.”
Both mosques are well over 400 years old, predating the construction of the nearby train infrastructure. The board is currently in a legal dispute with the Centre over 123 sites, including mosques, mausoleums, and graveyards. Mehfooz Mohammad, an officer with the Delhi Waqf Board, told the daily The Hindustan Times that the case was “currently pending in the high court.”
A member of the Bachchu Shah mosque’s administration, Hafiz Matlub Karim, has penned a letter to the Delhi government on the subject.
“The notice which was pasted was without any signature and stamp…this activity is harassment and an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere,” the daily reported him as saying.
