SAMBHAL: A case has been registered against seven members of a mosque management committee in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district following a complaint alleging that a mosque was constructed on land designated as a graveyard.
The complaint, lodged on Sunday, January 18, alleges that the mosque was built on graveyard land and that the committee submitted false information to the Central Waqf Board, concealing the land’s classification as a cemetery in order to have the property declared as Waqf.
Khabar Hussain, the Lekhpal of Sambhal tehsil, said that during a survey of plot number 409 in Kaserua village, which was recorded as graveyard land in revenue records; it was found that a mosque had been constructed on a portion of the plot.
According to documents submitted by the mosque committee, the mosque was registered with the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on June 19, 2023. However, the complaint claims that the committee failed to disclose the land’s graveyard status, adding that the registration would not have been granted had this information been revealed.
The complaint further alleges that by encroaching on land meant for burial purposes, the committee caused damage to property owned by the village council.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered at the Nakhasa police station against Zakir Hussain, Taslim, Bhure Ali, Sharfuddin, Dil Sharif, Mohbad Ali and Nanhe.
Nakhasa police station SHO Sanjeev Kumar Baliyan said the accused have been booked under Section 329(3) (criminal trespass and house-trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.