Court orders demolition of three floors of Shimla mosque
The Shimla Municipal Commissioner Court on Saturday ordered the demolition of the top three floors of a mosque in the district’s Sanjauli area.
Since early September, right wing Hindu organisations have been demanding the demolition of portions of the mosque.
Waqf Board’s lawyer BS Thakur said that the municipal court had given two months to the mosque committee to “demolish the top three floors of the mosque at their own cost,” news agency ANI reported.
“In due course, decision will be taken about the rest of the portion of the building,” said Thakur. “The next date of hearing is December 21. The mosque committee has given the undertaking to demolish the top three floors.”
Tensions regarding the mosque were triggered by a fight between two shopkeepers from different communities and also led to Hindutva groups demanding mandatory registration of migrant workers. Hindutva men and women were seen shouting racist and Islamophobic slogans during the protests.
On 7 September, the Himachal Waqf Board told the court that the mosque was its property and that the dispute was about the construction of additional floors.
On September 11, a demonstration against the mosque turned violent after protestors who were marching towards the structure clashed with the police.
