Local residents protest as illegal structures around mosque demolished in UP's Muzaffarnagar

Local residents at a village here protested as illegal structures around a mosque and a shrine were demolished by the authorities, police said on Thursday. The complex at Biharigarh village under Bhopa Police Station is built in a reserved forest area and was declared illegal by the forest department. Apart from the mosque and a shrine dedicated to late sufi saint Khushal Miyan, the complex houses a chillahgah and the residence of the saint's family.

Local residents at a village here protested as illegal structures around a mosque and a shrine were demolished by the authorities, police said on Thursday. The complex at Biharigarh village under Bhopa Police Station is built in a reserved forest area and was declared illegal by the forest department.

Apart from the mosque and a shrine dedicated to late sufi saint Khushal Miyan, the complex houses a chillahgah and the residence of the saint's family. The demolition drive was carried out on Wednesday leading to tension in the area. According to divisional forest officer (DFO) Suraj Singh, the land was given on lease which expired in 2016. The department then issued a notice to the family living in the complex asking them to vacate but they refused. As a result, the district authority decided to demolish the illegal structures, the official said.

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