Overview
- The Darul Uloom Rahimia madrasa in Phulat village had about 300 square metres of structure removed on Sunday, and officials say roughly 900 square metres remain slated for demolition under tehsildar orders.
- A tehsildar (judicial) court and the Additional District Magistrate (judicial) found the building encroached on gram sabha government land and applied Section 67(5) of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code to order eviction and removal.
- Police arrested the madrasa operator, Hafiz-ur-Rehman Ansari, and his two sons in an unrelated complaint about unlawful religious conversions, and a chargesheet has been filed in that probe.
- Reports conflict over who carried out the removal: the madrasa committee says it began self-demolition after the court order, while police say the administration executed demolition under police cover, and the disputed area includes a girls’ hostel.
- Officials say they may press additional stringent laws, including the Gangsters Act, as the probe continues, and the action follows a wider pattern of UP authorities enforcing anti-encroachment rulings on public land.