Railways asks mosque near Kashi station to vacate for expansion; body calls notice ‘illegal’

Railways officials said on Thursday that they affixed a notice to the wall of the Ganj Shaheeda mosque at the main entrance of Kashi Railway Station, demanding the premises be vacated by June 20 as part of the legal process for the station's expansion.

The mosque's managing body, the Intajamia Masjid Committee, has termed the notice illegal and said it would challenge the move in a court. (Representational Image)

However, the mosque's managing body, the Intajamia Masjid Committee, has termed the notice illegal and said it would challenge the move in a court.

Station Superintendent Arpit Gupta of Cant Railway Station said the land around Kashi Railway Station needs to be cleared of encroachments for the station's expansion and proposed construction works.

Also Read: UP: Mosque built on gram sabha land in Moradabad razed as part of encroachment removal drive

"Various locations have been identified and action is being taken accordingly," Gupta said.

He said the Railways and the district administration had earlier carried out anti-encroachment drives in and around Kashi Railway Station. As part of a joint exercise, a Hanuman temple and the Ajmer Shaheed mosque situated in the Rajghat area had already been removed, he said.

Gupta said a notice, affixed three days ago following the prescribed legal procedure, directed the Ganj Shaheeda mosque at the station gate to be vacated.

Reacting to the development, Intajamia Masjid Committee secretary Mohammad Yasin alleged that the Railways notice was invalid as it did not bear a date, signature or its logo.

"If the Railways has pasted such notices, it is trying to disturb law and order," Yasin said.

He claimed that the Railways had submitted an affidavit before a court acknowledging that the mosque was owned by Muslims.

Yasin claimed that the committee possessed a map dating back to 1980 that clearly marked the mosque, adding that the Railways did not exist at the site at that time.

Mosque built on gram sabha land razed in UP

In another incident, a mosque allegedly constructed on gram sabha land in a village here was razed by the administration on Wednesday, officials said

Police and revenue department teams were present during the demolition exercise in Ber Khera village under Bhagpatpur police station area. Security was strengthened in the area and the illegal construction was removed using a bulldozer, Superintendent of Police Kunwar Akash Singh said.