The district administration in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria on Sunday began demolishing an allegedly “illegally” constructed “mazar” (shrine) following a local court order, officials said.
The structure, known as the Hazrat Shaheed Syed Abdul Gani Shah Baba shrine, stood on barren government land near an overbridge on the Deoria–Gorakhpur Road. The demolition was carried out using bulldozers under heavy police deployment to prevent any untoward incident.
The action followed an order by the Sadar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) court, which declared the land to be government property and ruled that the shrine had no legal recognition. After hearing all parties, the court directed the removal of the encroachment.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shruti Sharma said the drive was conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures and in a peaceful manner. “The situation in the area is completely normal,” she said.
The shrine’s management committee had begun removing items from the premises ahead of the demolition. Committee president Rashid Khan said they were complying with the court’s order and extending full cooperation to the administration.
The dispute dates back to 2019, when local BJP leaders filed a complaint alleging illegal construction on government land.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
