Days after stir over Shimla mosque, protesters met with water cannons in Mandi
Mandi: The mosque management committee has been served a notice by the local municipal corporation to remove the encroachment within 30 days.
Two days after violent protests in Shimla over an illegal portion of a mosque, protests escalated in Mandi on Friday demanding the demolition of a portion of a mosque built on encroached government land.
Despite prohibitory orders issued by the district administration, the protestors marched towards the mosque on Jail Road in Mandi and tried to break the barricades prompting the police to use water cannons to disperse them.
Notably, the members of the Muslim community had themselves started demolishing an unauthorised portion of the mosque located on Jail Road on Thursday. The mosque management committee has been served a notice by the local municipal corporation to remove the encroachment within 30 days.
The unauthorised construction was on a plot of land which belongs to the public works department. The department and the municipal corporation had earlier served notices on the mosque management committee in this connection.
Mandi deputy commissioner (DC) Apoorv Devgan said both local residents and individuals from outside the area had come forward to express their demands through protest and they were urged to protest peacefully.
“The protesters raised concerns about the presence of outsiders and demanded action against the illegal portion of the mosque on Jail Road. We assured them that appropriate actions are being taken. We also provided them with the facts, as many rumours are circulating on social media,” he told the media.
“The Muslim community is cooperating and have been told that they will follow the law. A portion of the mosque is located on encroached land belonging to the PWD, and they themselves started demolition of that portion on Thursday. Additionally, there was a matter of the Mosque before the Municipal Corporation regarding compliance with the TCP Act. Mandi MC has given them the instructions and no further construction will be permitted until compliance with the Act is ensured,” the DC added.
Security had been beefed up by the police in Mandi with the deployment of heavy force after Hindu outfits gave the call for the protest march. Mandi police had also closed the Jail Road for vehicular movement from 9.00 am.
In view of the demonstration by Hindu organisations, the district magistrate had issued orders under Section 163 of the Indian Civil Defence Code in most parts of the city, barring assembly of five or more persons at any public place without permission and carrying deadly weapons and arms.