200 year old Masjid ek Khana and Ashoor khana Hazrath Abbas that stood on 419 sq yards and 359 sq yards respectively was demolished in the early hours of 2nd May by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on the pretext of road widening.
This was followed by protests by Muslims of Hyderabad and even local MLA from AIMIM visited the spot and offered the afternoon namaz at the demolished site with the resident Muslims of Amberpet.
Activists and leader of political party Majlis Bachao Tehrek (MBT) say that the masjid and the Ashoor Khana are wakf property and. The state has to protect Wakf properties and not destroy them.
However in this case the GHMC paid a compensation of 6 crores to some people who claimed that the land was theirs. These ‘private players’ had allegedly encroached the land and then forged the papers of the properties in their names and claimed the compensation from GHMC.
But as per the original records and the gazette notification No 24-B this property on which stood the Masjid and the Ashoor khana belonged to the Wakf board. Some representatives of the Wakf Board came forward to complain that the property was indeed that of the Wakf Board.
The Muslim youth with help from some local leaders tried to build a shed like structure to continue to offer prayers there but the police prevented the same and there was even violence between the police, the protesting youth and other fringe elements from the Hindutva brigade who pelted stones to prevent the construction of the Masjid.
Some arrests have been made by the police wherein youth from the Muslim community and the Hindu community have been booked for assaulting the police and for promoting enmity between different religious groups respectively.
Md Azharuddin, former cricket captain and congress leader in a press conference demanded investigation into the matter and re-construction of the 200 year old masjid which is a heritage property and should have been saved.
No leaders from the ruling party Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) or even Muslim leaders from TRS have come forward to talk about the demolition of the Masjid.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have submitted representation to the Home Minister, Shri Mohammed Mehmood Ali to take immediate action and investigate into the matter and order for the reconstruction of the Masjid.
In their representation released to the press, the IUML have also brought to the notice of the Home Minister other incidents of injustice and violence against Muslim in Telangana State such as the stopping of fruit merchants in Jagtyal from offering prayers in the premises of market, custodial death of Abdul Manan, a cloth merchant from Uttar Pradesh in the police station of Warangal district of Telangana state. The IUML have demanded the TRS government to be secular and take action against the atrocities on the Muslim minorities instead of being silent. The silence of the present government sends the message that they are anti-Muslim.
There is a strong police patrolling at Amberpet now where the Masjid ek Khana stood as it is the month of Ramzan.
Post protests and demands from Muslims the Home minister has assured that the masjid will be reconstructed but there is stiff opposition from the BJP MLA and his supporters.
Courtesy: Two Circle