After Shimla, Mandi erupts with demand to raze mosque | Shimla News – Times of India

KULLU: After Sanjauli in Shimla, hundreds of protesters defied prohibitory orders and took out a march in Mandi town of Himachal Pradesh on Friday, demanding demolition of the illegally built portion of a mosque.
The Mandi municipal corporation has ordered demolition of the unauthorised portion within 30 days. The mosque society had started removing encroachments on PWD land on Thursday following smaller protests in the town over the past few days.
On Friday, hundreds of slogan-shouting protesters belonging to various Hindu outfits took out processions and reached Jail Road, where the mosque is located, in the afternoon.Many tried to cross the police barricades, and cops had to use water cannons to control the mob.
The situation in the town became tense. The protesters dispersed only after Mandi deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan assured them that the issue would be resolved soon within the framework of the law.
Anticipating trouble, the administration had imposed curbs under section 163 of BNSS and deployed 300 police personnel across the town. Police also closed the main roads and set up checkposts at entry and exit points of Mandi.
Addressing a press conference, municipal commissioner H S Rana said the illegal construction was first brought to the notice of the civic body in October last year.
“A complaint was lodged by a local resident about illegal construction and encroachment by the Muslim Welfare Society, which runs the mosque. When we checked, we found the building to be illegal as the map was not approved by the town and country planning department. Also, the society owns 231 sqm land, but fresh measurement found the total land under its occupation to be 240 sqm. This additional land is owned by PWD,” said Rana. The society was sent multiple notices, but it ignored them.
Protests are also being held against “illegal construction of mosques” and “illegal street vendors” in other parts of the state, including Jogindernagar in Mandi and Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district.