Overview
- The Mustafa Qadri structure was torn down after revenue and tehsildar courts ruled it an illegal build on land marked as a graveyard, and officials said the demolition proceeded on Saturday with heavy police deployment.
- During a post-demolition inspection officers reported finding 49 posters that read 'I Love Mohammad' hidden under a mattress on the top floor and a green flag that police said resembled Pakistan’s flag.
- Nakhasa police registered a criminal case naming eight people, including the mosque caretaker Zakir, and charged them under Section 353(2) of the BNS, a provision that targets material that may promote enmity and is classified as non-bailable.
- Investigators say the probe will examine who placed the posters and flag and the materials’ provenance while the legal case continues, and district officials maintain the demolition followed completed eviction orders.
- Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq has publicly objected, said the site is a 150-year-old waqf-registered mosque and warned he will move court, a development that could prolong legal fights and affect local communal tensions.