Clashes near Delhi masjid; encroachments razed

Municipal authorities tore down a raft of encroachments on public land abutting a decades-old mosque in central Delhi’s Turkman Gate area at 1.30am on Wednesday after a brief bout of stone pelting that led to minor injuries to five policemen and the arrest of five people.

Thirty-two bulldozers roared into the Old Delhi neighbourhood shortly after midnight, smashing through a cloak of silence blanketing the area on a chilly and windy night. By the time their thrum had died down at 3am, a banquet hall, a diagnostics centre, a room where Haj pilgrims stayed, portions of a road, a footpath and a car park were reduced to a pile of rubble.

The action – by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), with the help of Delhi Police – removed encroachments on 36,428 sq.ft. of the Ramleela Ground. The Syed Elahi Masjid-- which stands on a plot leased by the Land & Development Office to the mosque committee in 1940 -- covers an area of 0.195 acres.

The demolition came hours after the Delhi high court issued notice MCD and L&DO on a petition filed by the mosque managing committee, challenging an earlier December decision by the civic body to remove the encroachments.

In November last year, the high court had given the MCD and Public Works Department (PWD) three months to clear 38,940 sq ft of encroachments at Ramlila Ground near Turkman Gate. This included the areas demolished on Wednesday morning.

The demolition was originally planned for 8am but was brought forward because the authorities feared law-and-order disruption during the day, said a senior police officer. The action was interrupted initially by stone pelting by some local residents, triggering a lathi charge and tear-gas shelling by the police.

The police later registered an FIR on charges of rioting and arrested five men – Mohammed Kashif, his brother Mohammed Kaif, Mohammed Areeb, Mohammed Adnan and Mohammed Sameer, all between 20 and 30, and residents of the neighbouring Chandni Mahal and Darya Ganj areas.

Joint commissioner of police (central range) Madhur Verma said “minimal force” was used as “a few miscreants attempted to create disturbance by indulging in stone pelting”.

“Sticks were only used to scare miscreants away and no one was hit,” he added.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Nidhin Valsan said that several meetings were held with all stakeholders for a week before the demolition drive and they were informed that “it’s a court mandated order and needs to be carried out”.

Local residents alleged that police used sticks to disburse protestors who gathered outside the mosque and continued tear gas shelling till 3:30am.

“There are thousands of cases pending but they were quick to decide on this one. Among the demolished structures was a dispensary which was vital to residents of the area because it was extremely reasonable,” said Mohammed Imran, 42, a resident of Kali Gali near the mosque.

The Waqf Board and mosque committee did not comment on the matter.

In the FIR, registered at Chandni Mahal police station and seen by HT, a constable stated that all people were already informed that the action was to be carried out by MCD as per the orders of the high court, and it was ensured that no damage would be caused to the mosque.

“Despite this, at around 12:40 am, while the SHO and other staff were deployed at Turkman Gate and we were installing barricades, around 30–35 people came towards the barricades, raising slogans against the police administration. The people in the crowd started pelting stones. Police made announcements through a loud-hailer informing that Section 163 of BNSS was in force in the area, but the crowd did not disperse and continued stone pelting after damaging the barricades,” he said in the FIR.

An officer aware of the developments said five people were detained and social media was being monitored to see who mobilised the crowd and spread rumours about the mosque getting razed.

Built in the 17th century, the Turkman Gate stands at the heart of a centuries-old neighbourhood where layers upon layers of encroachments over the decades have crept up on public land and heritage structures.

In November, the high court gave the MCD and Public Works Department (PWD) three months to clear 38,940 sq ft of encroachments near Ramlila Ground. The order was based on a joint survey conducted in October 2025 by the MCD, DDA, PWD, L&DO, the Union ministry of urban development, revenue department, and police. The joint survey report had recorded 2,512 sq ft of encroachment on PWD land and 36,248 sq ft on MCD land. This included all the structures demolished on Wednesday.

The survey also noted that the mosque and a cremation ground occupied 7,343 sq ft of land belonging to L&DO, but the court issued no direction on this aspect.

On Sunday, MCD officials visited the site to mark the encroached area but faced resistance from locals, prompting increased police deployment. The mosque committee approached the high court for a stay on January 5. On Tuesday, a bench led by justice Amit Bansal observed that the matter required consideration, directed MCD and L&DO to file their responses, and listed the case for April 22.

“In compliance with the directions of the high court of Delhi, MCD afforded an opportunity of personal hearing on November 24 and December 16 to the affected parties. The hearing was attended by representatives of managing committee Masjid Syed Faiz Illahi, Delhi Waqf Board, DDA, L&DO and officers of revenue department of the Delhi government,” MCD said.

They added that after examining the documents, the MCD concluded on December 22 that “L&DO executed lease deed in the year 1940 for an area of only 0.195 acre in which tin shed with a platform , a hujra and graveyard was situated. Neither Delhi Waqf Board nor managing committee Syed Faiz Illahi produced any ownership or right beyond the said land covered under the said lease deed”.

Delhi home minister Ashish Sood said that the stone-pelting incident was extremely unfortunate.

“Some commercial establishments had illegally come up around the mosque, against which action was being taken in compliance with the directions of the court. Obstructing or disrupting work being carried out within the framework of law is completely unacceptable. In protest against this action, certain criminal and mischievous elements resorted to demonstrations and violence, which cannot be tolerated. The individuals involved in the incident have been identified, and legal action is being taken against them in accordance with the law,” he added.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and former head of Delhi Waqf Board, Amanatullah Khan said that the demolition drive was meant “to spoil the atmosphere of Delhi and country.”

“The Turkman Gate issue falls under the 123 waqf properties. This is part of the 123 properties under Waqf, and it was demolished illegally. In this way, these people want to spoil the atmosphere of the entire country. They want to spoil the atmosphere of Delhi. Anyone comes and says that this has been built illegally and the MCD demolishes it...If a Waqf wedding hall is running there, a dispensary is running there, and people are getting help from it, then so be it.”