Lucknow: Authorities partially demolished a madrasa in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district on August 18, citing allegations that the structure stood on government land. The operation drew protests from the Samajwadi Party and created tension in the area for nearly an hour.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate led a team of nearly 100 police officers from five stations to Pipra Ramlal village, arriving with six bulldozers. Within two hours, half of the 14,000-square-foot Maktab Madrasa was razed, including seven rooms.
Domariyaganj Samajwadi Party MLA Sayyada Khatoon, district president Lalji Yadav, and over 50 party workers reached the site to protest the demolition. An altercation broke out when police tried to stop the protest. Officers subsequently barricaded the area and cleared people before resuming demolition work.
Residents said the madrasa was established in the village in 1938. Its operations later shifted to a new building on the main road in 1967. Authorities stated that while the madrasa was originally built on private land, it subsequently expanded onto vacant government land. Government records classify approximately 9,000 square feet of the madrasa’s land as a playground.
Around 400 children were enrolled at the institution. Locals had viewed the madrasa’s growth as a positive development for the area.
In 2022, five villagers filed a complaint calling the structure an illegal encroachment and seeking its removal. A court issued an eviction order in 2023. Madrasa caretaker Abdul Salam appealed the ruling before the District Magistrate’s Court the same year. After three years of hearings, the District Magistrate rejected the appeal on August 14 and upheld the original order.
Authorities issued a removal notice following the ruling. When the madrasa was not vacated within the stipulated period, officials initiated the demolition on August 18.
