Mosque built on police station land sparks dispute in Meerut; Imam served 7 day notice

AConflict has emerged o'er a mosque hither, with authorities alleging the shrine was constructed on a law place land while the mosque management maintains the structure was built on a Waqf property.Police said a seven-day notice has been served to the mosque's imam seeking ownership documents and removal of the purported encroachment.According to police, a revenue department survey found that the Jama Masjid, locally known as the "Thane Wali Masjid" and situated within Kharkhoda police station premises, had allegedly been built on police station land.Following the survey, police sought ownership-related documents from the mosque's imam Abdul Ghaffar. However, officials claimed that no valid records had been produced till Sunday evening.The mosque management however rejected the allegations saying the land had been recorded in the name of the Waqf Board, and documentary evidence supporting the claim had already been submitted to the police.Police said the Kharkhoda police station, located on the Meerut-Bulandshahr road, dates back to the pre-Independence era and revenue records show 6,450 square metres of land under Khasra number 1217 registered in the name of the police station for several decades.Authorities alleged that the mosque was later constructed by encroaching upon a portion of this land.Kithore Circle Officer Pramod Kumar Singh said the revenue department's report identified the land as part of the police station premises."As part of the legal process, a notice has been issued to the imam asking him to remove the alleged unauthorised construction and submit relevant documents within seven days," Singh said.Kharkhoda Station House Officer Rajpal Singh told PTI that the notice was served on Saturday and a seven-day period had been provided for a response."No reply to the notice has been received so far," he said.Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Abhijeet Kumar said the mosque was several years old and the issue came to light only after recent demarcation of the police station land. "A notice has been issued and further action will be taken accordingly."Rejecting the police claims, imam Abdul Ghaffar said the land had been recorded in the name of the Waqf Board in 1985 and that documentary evidence supporting the claim was available.He said the relevant papers had already been submitted to the police and maintained that the mosque was a Waqf property.With conflicting claims from the administration and the mosque management, further action is expected to depend on verification of documents and scrutiny of revenue records, officials said.