Senior Samajwadi Party leader, S T Hasan, who is notorious for his inflammatory remarks, has justified the stone pelting that happened on 7th January, disrupting an anti-encroachment demolition drive near Turkman Gate in Old Delhi. Speaking to the media about the stone pelting, Hasan justified the criminal act as a mere “reaction” to the government’s “action”. Instead of condemning the stone pelting, the Samajwadi Party leader questioned the court-directed demolition drive by the government.
“There are doubts about the intentions. What was the point of going there at 2 am? You (government) went there in the middle of the night with bulldozers and started the demolition,” Hasan said. He added that people of India tend to believe rumours, insinuating that the stone-throwers might have been misguided by some rumour.
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh: On the stone-pelting at the police during a demolition drive near an Old Delhi mosque, Samajwadi Party leader S.T. Hasan says, "There are doubts about the intentions. What was the point of going there at 2 AM? You went there with bulldozers in the middle… pic.twitter.com/e8WhJvt2Gx
— IANS (@ians_india) January 8, 2026
On January 7, 2026, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) carried out demolition operations with police support, in compliance with directions issued by the Delhi High Court, to clear illegal structures in the Faiz-e-Ilahi Mosque area. In November 2025, the Delhi High Court ordered the clearance of 38,940 sq ft of public land, including a banquet hall and a diagnostic centre.
Suddenly, a mob, largely including Muslims, gathered and started pelting stones to disrupt the demolition. Five policemen were injured in the stone pelting by the violent mob, and the police team had to temporarily pause the demolition for some time. Five people identified as Kashif (resident of Gali Gudiyan), Mohammad Kaif (Gali Gudiyan), Mohammad Areeb (Gali Elaichi Wali, Turkman Gate), Adnan (Mohalla Jatwara, Darya Ganj), and Sameer (Gali Gadiyan, Kucha Challan, Darya Ganj) were arrested by the police the same day. A case was registered at Chandni Mahal police station.
The Faiz-e-Ilahi mosque was in the news in connection with the Red Fort blast in November last year, when it was revealed that the suicide bomber, Dr Umar Nabi, had visited the mosque before carrying out the Red Fort blast.
