"There is very little government land in this village; so it was necessary to clear the encroached-on gram sabha land on which the mosque stood. Dhirendra Singh, a tehsildar, said: "We have also imposed a ₹8.78-lakh fine on the encroachers (mosque management committee)." District magistrate Pensiya said the administration would "soon" flatten and reclaim the graveyard of Mallak Shah Baba near Shankar Chowk in Sambhal town. The Sambhal administration says it has a list of many more "illegal buildings" that it plans to demolish. Tehsildar Singh said the authorities had received the first complaint against the Hazipur mosque in June 2018 but couldn’t act because of "other engagements".

Source: The Telegraph January 05, 2026 05:56 UTC