On Saturday, a man was arrested and imprisoned for allegedly offering 'azan' at a 250-year-old dilapidated structure, which many regard as a Mughal-era mosque. The site is spread across nearly 4 bighas in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli, TOI reported.
Shamli SP, Abhishek told the publication, "The accused, identified as Umar Qureshi, is a resident of Jalalabad. He was booked under IPC section 505 (2) (promoting enmity) and IT Act following a complaint by Neeraj Kumar, a representative of a village head in Gausgarh."
According to a local police officer, Qureshi, who is in his early twenties, went to the unused site on Friday and attempted to perform prayers, in violation of a 1940 British order. He also recorded and shared a video of it on social media.
Prayers are prohibited at Shamli Mosque per an order from 1940.
"Though the structure, partly in ruins, still exists today, a section of the majority community associates it with Manahar rajas. Others claim it is a mosque," the local cop stated.
In a conversation with the publication, Bhanu Pratap Singh, secretary of Manahar Kheda Fort Kalyan Samiti, a socio-cultural group, said that the region has been a part of Manhar Fort since 1350, where Hindu kings of Manhar Kheda once ruled. Najeeb-ud-Daula gained power over the region when the Mughals eventually took over, he added. After that, it was converted into a mosque, but no Muslim family is found residing there.
Pratap stated that tensions arose from a dispute over resuming prayers at the location during British rule. "In 1940, a 'panchayat' attended by then DM and maharaja of Jasmaur Riyasat reached a consensus following which an order was passed by the British. It still holds..," he added.
As per the British order, the structure should not be razed by Hindus and Muslims should refrain from offering prayers at the site, the locals reiterated. During the Mughal era, Gulam Qadir (Qadir's grandfather, Najeeb-ud-Daula, was the one who founded Najeebabad) used to rule this area, they added.