150 Complaints Against Demolition Of Secretariat Mosques

Led by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Minorities Department Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, hundreds of Congress activists on Tuesday lodged complaints with the Saifabad police station demanding an FIR against the demolition of two mosques and one temple in the Secretariat premises.

"We have lodged fresh complaints demanding the registration of a criminal case against Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Wakf Board Chairman Mohammed Saleem and others who are responsible for the demolition of places of worship to facilitate the construction of a new Secretariat building. The demolition of the two mosques and a temple was illegal as the land where these places of worship existed was not owned by the state government although they were located in the Secretariat premises. The Masjid-e-Moatamadi and Masjid-e-Hashmi were Wakf properties and one of them was a heritage building. They were protected under various Central laws. Therefore, their demolition was totally illegal, and those responsible for it must be booked," Abdullah Sohail said after submitting a complaint at the Saifabad police station.

Abdullah Sohail said that nearly 500 Congress activists were planning to lodge separate complaints at the police station. However, senior officials had requested the Congress leader not to let activists come in such large numbers in view of Covid-19 and also due to a shortage of staff at the police station.

Responding to their request, only top leaders including Hyderabad City Congress president M Anjan Kumar Yadav, Youth Congress president Anil Kumar Yadav, TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin, Hyderabad Congress Minorities Department chairman Sameer Waliullah and a few others visited the police station to submit the complaints in person. The remaining Congress workers lodged their complaints online.

"Two mosques and a temple were demolished on the 8th of July, and Hyderabad Congress Minorities Department chairman Sameer Waliullah and TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin lodged a complaint on 10th July. A few days later, I too lodged a separate complaint demanding the immediate registration of an FIR. But all those complaints were rejected by the police and we were informed that they were not 'maintainable'. Therefore we decided to lodge fresh complaints. We have been told by a few police officials that they had been directed by their higher-ups not to register an FIR against the demolition of the Secretariat mosques. This is illegal and unconstitutional. The demolition of places of worship is an offence, and it is the duty of the police to register an FIR if someone lodges a complaint," Abdullah Sohail said.

The Congress leader said that the Telangana State Wakf Board should have lodged a complaint against those responsible for the demolition of the two mosques. But the Wakf Board was totally silent on the issue and its chairman Saleem was giving misleading statements claiming that the mosques would be reconstructed.

"Our demand is quite clear and precise. We want both the mosques and a temple to be reconstructed at the same place without any delay. We will not allow the construction of a new Secretariat until the government reconstructs all three places of worship at the same places. There will be no compromise on the issue. We will not fall for any fake assurances by the Chief Minister or anyone," he said.