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The administrative action to remove the mosque located in the Saharanpur Collectorate complex began early Saturday. Six bulldozers have been installed and about 200 soldiers are deployed for security. The mosque side is preparing to approach the High Court against the decision of the district court.

Saharanpur: In Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, administrative action was initiated early on Saturday to remove the 70-year-old mosque located in the Collectorate premises. The action started around 4 am, for which six bulldozers have been deployed at the spot. In view of the security arrangements, about 200 personnel of Police, PAC and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed.

Information about demolition of a part of the mosque during the administration action has come to light. Police have restricted the movement of people in the area and no one is being allowed near the mosque.

There have also been protests and political reactions at the local level regarding the action of removing the mosque. The administration says that after the construction was declared illegal by the courts, action is being taken after completing the legal process.

Action started at 4 am

The administration team reached the Collectorate premises at around 4 am on Saturday morning. After this, six bulldozers were deployed to remove the mosque. Security arrangements were tightened until the action began.

According to Saharanpur Division DIG Abhishek Singh, the City Magistrate's Court had considered the construction located in the Collectorate premises as illegal construction on government land. After this the mosque side appealed against this decision, but the appeal was also rejected in the district court.

The administration says that action has been initiated only after the legal process including notice and appeal is completed.

deployment of 200 soldiers

A large number of security personnel have been deployed to avoid any untoward situation during the removal of the mosque. According to officials, apart from five company PAC and RAF personnel, police force is also present at the spot.

In view of the festivals in Saharanpur, security arrangements have already been strengthened. Officials have also informed about foot patrolling and flag march in sensitive areas.

The administration has appealed to the people to maintain peace. Police presence has been increased around the mosque and the movement of people is being controlled.

Crowd gathered after rumor on Friday night

Regarding the action of removing the mosque, a rumor had spread around 11 pm on Friday night that the administration would take action to demolish the mosque the same night. After this a large number of people reached the spot.

After getting information about the rumour, the administration and police team reached the spot. The officials removed the people from there and controlled the situation.

Later the police and administration deployed additional forces to maintain security. Despite this, since the action started early on Saturday, security was further increased in view of the tense situation in the area.

Claim of Iqra Hasan being placed under house arrest

After receiving the news of removal of the mosque, Kairana MP Iqra Hasan had left for Saharanpur. According to the report, the police got information about his arrival in Saharanpur and he was stopped on the way and put under house arrest.

There has also been a reaction from the MP regarding this action. However, independent official confirmation of all administrative details to the house arrest is yet to emerge separately.

Other political leaders have also given statements against the action of removing the mosque.

Imran Masood said – will go to High Court

MP Imran Masood came in front of the people through social media on Friday night. He appealed to the people not to take any such step which may create legal or other problems for them in future.

Masood termed the action of removing the mosque as wrong and said that the High Court will be approached against it.

His reaction came at a time when there was discussion and crowd gathering in Saharanpur regarding the possible action of demolishing the mosque.

Former MP Haji Fazlur Rahman also expressed protest

Former MP Haji Fazlur Rahman raised questions on the action of the administration. He said that the mosque side was preparing to go to the High Court against the decision of the District Court, but before that the administration started the action to remove the building.

He called this action illegal. However, the administration says that the process of removing the mosque has been taken forward only after the appeal in the district court was rejected.

In this way, there is a clear difference between the claims of the administration and the supporters of the mosque regarding the action.

MP Chandrashekhar also did live at night

After rumors spread about the mosque on Friday night, MP Chandrashekhar also went live on social media. He had told that he had talked to the District Magistrate.

According to Chandrashekhar, the District Magistrate had assured him that no action would be taken in the dark of night and if any action is taken, it would be taken as per the rules and in the knowledge of everyone.

However, a few hours later, at around 4 am on Saturday, the administration team reached the Collectorate premises with a bulldozer and started the process of removing the mosque.

The mosque is built in 3,000 square feet

According to available information, the mosque located in the Collectorate premises is built on an area of ​​about 3,000 square feet. Regarding this, on February 10, 2025, former state coordinator of Bajrang Dal, Vikas Tyagi had complained to the District Magistrate.

In the complaint the construction of the mosque was described as illegal. Along with this, allegations of collecting rent from the rooms and post office of the premises were also made.

After the complaint, the District Magistrate instructed the Magistrate to investigate the matter. The investigation conducted by the administration found the construction illegal.

The case reached the administrative court in 2025

On March 24, 2025, the administration filed a petition taking the case to the city magistrate's court. After this the legal process proceeded.

On July 16, 2026, the court deemed the mosque an illegal construction and ordered its removal. Besides, an order was also given to recover damages of Rs 6.41 crore. The occupants were given 30 days to vacate the premises.

The mosque side approached the district court challenging this order.

District Court upheld the order of City Magistrate

On July 20, the mosque side filed a petition in the district court against the order of the city magistrate. After this the case was heard in the court of District Judge Satendra Kumar.

On September 2, the District Judge's court rejected the petition of the mosque side and upheld the earlier order of the City Magistrate.

According to the administration, after the decision of the district court, the way was cleared for the action to remove the mosque and after this the campaign was started in the early hours of Saturday.

Legal battle likely to continue amid action

Even after the process of removing the mosque has started, the matter may proceed at the legal level. The mosque side has said that it will go to the High Court.

On the other hand, the administration claims that the legal process in the lower court and the district court has been completed and action is being taken only on the basis of the orders of the courts.

At present, security arrangements are tight in the Saharanpur Collectorate complex. The work of removing the construction is going on using six bulldozers and a large number of police, PAC and RAF personnel are deployed.

The biggest challenge before the administration and police is to maintain law and order during the operation. Officials have appealed to people to maintain peace and not pay attention to rumours.