A dispute has arisen over a mosque here, with the authorities claiming that the shrine was built on the police station land while the mosque administration maintains that the structure was built on endowment property.
Police said a seven-day notice was given to the imam of the mosque to obtain ownership documents and remove the alleged encroachment.
According to the police, a survey conducted by the Revenue Department found that the Jama Masjid, known locally as ‘Thane Wali Masjid’ and located within the premises of Kharkhuda Police Station, was allegedly built on the police station land.
After the survey, the police requested documents related to ownership from the imam of the mosque, Abdul Ghaffar. However, officials claimed that no valid records had been produced as of Sunday evening.
However, the mosque administration rejected these allegations, saying that the land was registered in the name of the Waqf Board, and documented evidence supporting this claim had already been submitted to the police.
The Kharkhda police station, located on the Meerut-Bulandshahr road, dates back to the pre-independence era, and revenue records show that 6,450 square meters of land under Khosra No. 1217 was registered in the name of the police station several decades ago, police said.
The authorities claimed that the mosque was later built by encroaching on part of this land.
Kithoor circle officer Pramod Kumar Singh said the revenue department 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 unauthorized construction and submit relevant documents within seven days,” Singh said.
Kharkhoda Station Officer Rajpal Singh told PTI that the notice was served on Saturday and a period of seven days was provided for response.
He added, “No response has been received to the notification yet.”
Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Abhijit Kumar said that the mosque is several years old and the issue came to light only after the boundaries of the police station land were recently demarcated. “A notice has been issued and further action will be taken accordingly.”
Imam Abdul Ghaffar rejected the police allegations and said that the land was registered in the name of the Waqf Board in 1985, and that documentary evidence supporting the claim is available.
He said that the relevant papers had already been submitted to the police and confirmed that the mosque was a Waqf property.
Officials said that with conflicting claims from the administration and the mosque management, additional measures are expected to rely on verifying documents and auditing revenue records.
