The Shimla Municipal Commissioner’s Court on October 5 ordered the demolition of the top three floors of the mosque within two months.

SHIMLA: Having received the go-ahead from the Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board, Sanjauli Mosque the committee started on Monday demolition three illegal floors of a mosque in Shimla.
Shimla Municipal Commissioner Bhupender Kumar Atri’s court passed the order on October 5 Muslim Welfare Committee demolish the top three floors of the mosque within two months at his own expense.
Mosque committee president Mohammed Latif said: “The committee hired workers to remove the tin roof of the building as well as the attic. The order of the municipal commissioner’s court is being followed in letter and spirit, but demolition of the illegally constructed parts of the mosque may take three to four months due to lack of funds.”
Welcoming the move, Himachal CEO Sukhwinder Singh Suhu said, “This will be the first such example of people of the Muslim community themselves coming forward to maintain peace and brotherhood in the state. In Himachal Pradesh, people of all castes, communities and religions live honestly and peacefully and everyone has the right to work in the state.”
Minister of Urban Local Government Vikramaditya Singh stated that if the committee faces shortage of funds or needs more time for demolition, it can make an application to the municipal commissioner’s court, who can take a decision in accordance with the law.
The Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, which led protests against the demolition of unauthorized parts of the mosque, also welcomed the decision. Meanwhile, the HP high court, hearing a petition filed by local residents, has directed the Shimla municipal commissionerate to pronounce a decision within eight weeks on the main pending case pertaining to the unauthorized construction of the Sanjauli mosque.