Eight persons have been booked after several posters with the “I Love Muhammad” slogan and a green flag allegedly resembling that of Pakistan were found inside a mosque that was being demolished in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, PTI reported on Monday.
The Mustafa Qadri mosque was demolished on Saturday after it was identified as having been illegally built on land earmarked for a graveyard, PTI quoted the police as saying.
Sambhal MP Ziaur Rahman Barq told reporters that said that he too had such posters and “could keep a green flag”, asking “what kind of case would they register against me for that?” PTI reported.
“Under what provisions will a case be registered?,” the news agency quoted the Samajwadi Party leader as having asked. “If I love my Allah and my prophet within the fold of my faith, which section of the law applies to that?”
Barq alleged that the demolition of the mosque was illegal and that he would challenge it in court.
In September and October, more than 4,500 Muslims were booked and 265 arrested in 23 towns after a row erupted about banners saying “I Love Muhammad” at Muslim religious processions, according to civil rights group Association for Protection of Civil Rights.
The right group alleged disproportionate police action and administrative targeting of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly after clashes broke out in the district on September 26 in connection with the banners.
The controversy began on September 4, when a group of Muslims held an “I love Muhammad” banner during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. Hindu groups had objected to the banner, claiming that a “new tradition” was being introduced at the procession.
The police had claimed at the time that rules prohibited introducing new customs into religious processions.
On Sunday, Barq claimed that the mosque demolished in Sambhal was about 150 years old and had been registered as waqf property in the state gazette since 1995, the news agency reported.
A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause.
Additional Superintendent of Police (North) Kuldeep Singh said that the case had been registered against the eight persons, including the mosque's caretaker, for statements leading to public mischief. An investigation is underway.
District Magistrate Ankit Khandelwal said the mosque committee’s appeal against the tehsildar court’s eviction order had been rejected as it had failed to submit evidence to support its claims.
Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
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