A day after the demolition of an illegal mosque located on the Saharanpur collectorate premises, the authorities on Sunday found a 20-foot-deep and 1.5-metre-wide well beneath the debris, the officials said.
The well was found while debris was being cleared from the site. The officials said that a slab was spotted during debris removal on Sunday morning. Upon cutting it with a cutter, the well was found underneath it.
Well likely a century old, ASI informed
The Saharanpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Subodh Kumar reached the spot and informed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to ascertain the antiquity and history of the well.
The officials added that the well prime facie, appeared to be around a century old, but its exact age and historical significance would be known only after an archaeological examination by experts.
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Heavy deployment continues
The authorities have covered the well with an iron sheet to prevent the debris from falling into it. Meanwhile, heavy police deployment at the collectorate continued on Sunday, and people were not allowed to approach the site.
On Saturday, the mosque was bulldozed in an operation that continued for nearly 16 hours on Saturday.
The action was taken after the mosque was found to be built illegally. The action stems from a 2025 petition in the Saharanpur city magistrate court, filed by Bajrang Dal regional convener Vikas Tyagi. Tyagi had alleged that the structure located within the collectorate premises was illegal.
After hearings and arguments, the magistrate court declared the structure illegal and issued an order for its demolition. The mosque management committee filed an appeal against the order in the district court, which on September 2 rejected it.
Political row
The demolition triggered a political row as Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan and Congress MP Imran Masood were put oh house arrest.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the government of creating a communal issue to divert people's attention from the Ram Mandir donation theft case.
"Can anyone tell me why all this is happening? This is happening because they were caught stealing in the wealth of Lord Shri Ram. These people were caught in Ram wealth theft. They have been caught in the theft of the offerings made by our poor, faithful people," Yadav alleged.
AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi also lashed out the UP government, terming the demolition as against the freedom of religion.
He said, "The mosque in the Saharanpur Collectorate was demolished at 5 AM this morning. Does the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion no longer apply to Muslims? Why is it that our places of worship are constantly bulldozed on flimsy grounds?"
(With PTI Inputs)