On Sunday, 6th September, officials in Saharanpur said a well was found underneath the debris of a mosque that was demolished inside the collectorate compound following a district court order. The well is around 20 feet deep and 1.5 metres wide. It was covered with a stone slab and was discovered when workers were removing the debris from the site.
Well found during demolition cleanup
Additional District Magistrate, Saharanpur, Santosh Bahadur Singh said the earthmover being used to clear the rubble got stuck after hitting a slab. Workers then used a cutter to break the slab, following which the well was found underneath.
Singh said the administration had not yet decided what would be done with the well. Sources said officials are considering inviting experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine the well, determine its age and find out whether it has any historical significance.
#WATCH | Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: Visuals of the well that was discovered yesterday at the site where a mosque inside the Saharanpur Collectorate was demolished.
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2026
The well has been barricaded on all four sides, with heavy police security deployed around the area. pic.twitter.com/zjPfHyRrYG
The administration has currently covered the well to prevent debris from falling into it. Police teams have also been deployed at the spot, while barricades have been installed to stop outsiders from entering the area.
Mosque declared an unauthorised structure
The mosque was demolished three days after a district court dismissed an appeal against an earlier order that had declared the structure unauthorised. The ruling said that the mosque stood on government land.
In July, the City Magistrate had ordered the eviction of the mosque within 30 days. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 6.41 crore on the “illegal occupants” for occupying 315 square metres of government land without authorisation.
The order was passed under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972.
Demand for detailed probe
Vikas Tyagi, whose complaint led the district administration to conduct an inquiry into the mosque before filing a case in the City Magistrate’s court, has now called for a detailed investigation into the well.
Tyagi has also demanded that an ASI team be brought in to examine the site and determine whether anything else could be present beneath the demolished mosque.
