In a recent viral video, one can see JCB excavators tearing down a structure, which kind of resembles a mosque. Several netizens are now claiming that the viral structure is an illegally built mosque from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. In the video, several JCB machines are seen demolishing houses built on the roadside in the presence of the police. In the same video, a JCB machine also breaks down a building with a white humongous dome structure. It is being claimed that it is a mosque that was demolished by the police due to illegality. At the same time, it is also being said that the houses being demolished belong to Muslims, which is illegal.
The video is shared with a Hindi caption which translates to ‘The mosque of that goat from Unnao who was calling Badrinath as the abode of Badruddin was demolished. Along with it the houses around the mosque were also razed. FIR was filed and he was asked to produce the papers. The mosque and houses were built on encroached land’.
It was shared on other social media pages, including Facebook. A caption with one of the Facebook posts translates to ‘They were asked to show the papers… and then JCB came. The mosque and surrounding houses were demolished. FIR was filed. The houses and mosque were illegally constructed’.
However, the fact check tells otherwise. On performing a keyword search, it was found that the viral video does show a demolition process underway in the Sohramau area of Unnao but, the claim that a mosque was brought down in the process is false. The district magistrate of Unnao himself refuted the viral claims. In the process, a News18 report dated July 27 was retrieved. According to the report, illegal houses built on the land of the Irrigation Department were removed in the Sohramau police station area, falling on the Lucknow-Kanpur highway in Unnao. On June 23, 2020, District Panchayat member Arun Singh had lodged a complaint against the landowners who had illegally occupied the land of the Irrigation Department. The department took action after the complaint was found to be true.
The Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department has also shared the video of the administration’s action on its official Twitter handle. Uttar Pradesh’s Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh posted this video on July 26. In a tweet on July 27, he also shared newspaper clips of the removal of encroachments in his tweet.
Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar who refuted such claims said that the land of the Irrigation Department at this place was illegally occupied for many years. An FIR was also registered by giving notice. “After our notice, many people even removed the encroachment. Later the encroachment was removed in the presence of the irrigation department and other officials,” Kumar told.
However, as the viral claim suggests that a religious structure was taken down, is simply not true. The structure that was seen falling in the video is the gate of a society that was dome-shaped. It is not related to any mosque or any religious place. Thus, it is clear from the News18 report and the statement of Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar that the dome shown in the viral video is the gate of a society that was illegally constructed on the land of the Irrigation department. The officials did not demolish any mosque or any kind of religious structure during the encroachment removal drive. Hence, the viral claim is false.
