On 19th January (Monday), 10 illegally built mazars or dargahs were demolished in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. These structures, situated in and around the Maharaja Suheldev Medical College of the Kotwali Dehat area, were deemed illegal, after which the district administration proceeded with the demolition on the ruling of the City Magistrate. Thousands of square feet of land were under illegal occupation by these mazars.
Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh: Dozens of illegal roadside mazars, including Astana Rasool Shah near the Medical College, were demolished by bulldozers today in the presence of administrative officials. Despite repeated warnings and correspondence to the Muslim community, the mazars… pic.twitter.com/oBJ0tLoCpA
— IANS (@ians_india) January 19, 2026
The action transpired after the institution’s principal Sanjay Khatri wrote a letter to the district administration and submitted that the studies of the students were being hindered by the visitors to the shrines. He mentioned that the “Astana Rasool Shah” dargah which housed 10 structures was directly across the campus.
It drew many people each day and the heavy pedestrian traffic disturbed the pupils. A boundary wall had also been installed around it. The complaint was taken seriously and management committee of the shrines was told to remove them.
On the other hand, the land documents for the college, provided by the Revenue Department in 2016 which included the land survey records (Khasra-Khatauni), map and other paperwork did not mention the Islamic buildings. Afterwards, the Divisional Commissioner of Devipatan was approached regarding the case who earlier ruled that the structures were illegal excluding those recorded with the Waqf Board and should be razed.
Protests started against the demolition action which led to a tense atmosphere in the area, however, several cops were deployed from multiple police stations at the scene to maintain law and order. The district administration informed that the mazars were rendered unlawful by both court and administrative decisions.
People involved with the management of the illegal mazars opposed the move, but the large force of police personnel brought the situation under control as the agitators were pacified through dialogue, as per reports.
Legal battle since 2002
Interestingly, initiatives to construct and take down the illegal mazars had been in progress since 2002 when the Bahraich District Magistrate pronounced them unauthorised and illegal. The management committee contested the verdict in the district court, but their petition was dismissed in 2004. However, the matter continued to be the subject of a drawn-out conflict. The committee appealed to the Divisional Commissioner in 2019 after exhausting all other avenues.
However, an order was eventually issued that declared the mazars which were located close to the district magistrate’s office as illicit and instructed their demolition. Notably, there were only two structures at the site at first but several more mushroomed around them over time after which the administration repeatedly warned that these were illegal.
According to Waqf Board documents, only two of the mazars were officially registered. However, those who managed them erected 10 more in their vicinity. They were not registered and neither the Waqf Board nor any relevant authority was notified about the development. Moreover, they fell within the boundaries of Maharaja Suheldev Medical College’s campus following its establishment in 2023.
City Magistrate Rajesh Prasad highlighted, “The buildings were not destroyed in spite of the directives issued since 2002. These individuals gradually constructed 10 to 12 shrines without permission and subsequently extended them. They have encroached upon an estimated 2,000 square feet of land with these unlawful structures. The encroachments are going to be removed in the presence of police and administrative officials.”
#WATCH Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh: The illegal mazars built inside the medical college campus were removed in the presence of the police.
— ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2026
City Magistrate Rajesh Prasad says, "Despite an order issued in 2002, the mazars were not removed. These people gradually expanded them and… pic.twitter.com/6G13MkUVGH
He mentioned that on 10th January, notices were sent out requesting a voluntary elimination of the shrines by 17th January. The notice made it very clear that noncompliance would result in enforced demolition on 19th January and the expenses would be recouped as land revenue. Furthermore, the medical college also filed a complaint with the district administration, charging that the management committee continuously expanded the mazars while encroaching on further government land.
Prasad expressed that the mazars were already found to be illegal by judgments released in 2002, 2004, and later upheld by the commissioner in 2019. However, they were not taken down willingly, despite repeated assurances. Hence, the action had to be completed on the district magistrate’s direction and under appropriate police supervision. He emphasised that the two mazars registered with the Waqf Board remained untouched.
