UP: RTI Activist Files Petition Claiming Aligarh's Jama Masjid Built On Site Of Ancient Temples

The allegation came after the responses to queries were filed under provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act with multiple government departments along with the Aligarh Municipal Corporation.

An RTI activist has filed a petition alleging that the Jama Masjid in Aligarh was built on the site of demolished Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples.

Source : IANS

A petition was filed by an RTI activist in a Civil Court in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh, claiming that the Jama Masjid in the city was built where Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu temples once stood. The allegation arose from responses to queries submitted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with multiple government departments along with the Aligarh Municipal Corporation.

Activist Pandit Keshav Dev Gautam told TOI that Civil Judge Gajendra Singh announced on Monday that the case would be heard on February 15. "I have been filing queries with several government departments regarding the origins of Jama Masjid, which, according to historical records, was constructed in the early 18th century," Gautam also said.

The mosque is situated in the Upper Kot area, a densely populated, predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in the old city.

He also claimed that a response to one of his RTI queries from the Aligarh Municipal Corporation indicates that the mosque was "constructed on public land without government approval." Based on this information, he has filed a petition seeking to have the current Jama Masjid management committee declared "illegal."

According to a copy of the petition, stamped by the oath commissioner and accessed by PTI, Gautam has requested that the mosque's site be taken over by the government.

Muslims In UP's Bareilly Remove Illegal Encroachment After Authorities Warn 

In a separate incident on December 31, Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly intervened to stop the illegal expansion of a mosque, where a government-owned pond leased for fish farming was reportedly filled to facilitate the construction.

According to a report by Jagran, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Tripti Gupta, accompanied by police officials, inspected the site on Sunday after receiving a complaint from a Hindutva organization. Following a warning of legal action, the mosque management committee agreed to dismantle the encroached structure.

The committee removed 60 per cent of the illegal encroachment using manual tools, with the remaining demolition planned for Tuesday. The pond, located adjacent to the mosque, had been leased to Shehla Begum for ten years.

Local authorities had previously overlooked the encroachment. The mosque committee claimed the encroachment was unintentional, attributing it to a lack of clarity about the pond's boundaries.