ISLAMABAD: A mosque in India’s Uttar Pradesh Sitapur district was demolished in a pre-dawn operation on March 30 over alleged encroachment, with rights group Hindutva Watch highlighting the incident on Wednesday.
The demolished structure was identified in local reporting as the Syed Hazrat Umar Farooq mosque in Laharpur.
Local authorities alleged that the structure stood on government land recorded as a pond and cemetery.
District officials said the action followed legal procedure. According to local reports, the administration said notices had been issued and that the demolition was carried out under provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code after a tehsil court order.
The Sitapur case comes amid a series of similar actions involving Muslim religious structures in Uttar Pradesh. In Sambhal, another mosque was demolished in 2025 after authorities said it had been built on government pond land, with reports describing it as the second mosque demolition in the district within four months.
A separate case in Uttarakhand drew national attention in February 2024. In Haldwani, authorities moved to demolish a mosque and seminary they said were built on government land, triggering unrest in which at least five people were killed, according to the Associated Press.
Rights groups and opposition voices have said such demolitions reflect a broader pattern in which anti-encroachment drives and punitive demolitions disproportionately affect Muslims.
Amnesty International described demolitions of Muslim properties in India as discriminatory and unlawful in a 2024 statement cited in international reporting.
The issue has also reached India’s Supreme Court. In November 2024, the court condemned arbitrary demolitions, laid down due-process safeguards, and responded to petitions arguing that such actions had disproportionately affected Muslim communities.
The Sitapur demolition is likely to add to that debate. While authorities maintain the action was a land-recovery measure, critics say repeated demolitions of mosques and other Muslim properties are increasing scrutiny of how India’s secular and constitutional commitments are being applied on the ground.
