Severing ties with the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari has sent resignations of his supporters, including his member of Legislative Assembly son-in-law, from all positions in the state government.
With the arrest of six suspected Indian Mujahideen men the Delhi police have claimed a breakthrough in three terror cases -- the German Bakery blast in Pune, the Jama Masjid shootout and blast in the capital and the Chinnaswamy stadium blasts in Bengaluru.
Foreigners wearing mini skirts and entering Jama Masjid prompted Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhaktal and his aides to commit a terror strike at the historic mosque in September 2010, the Delhi police told a court.
Construction of a mosque near the historic Jama Masjid was on Friday stopped by the Delhi high court which directed the local civic authority to immediately hand over the site to the ASI to ascertain if there were any remains of Mughal era structure there.
"I will be back some day." This is how the Taiwanese victim of the Jama Masjid firing incident summed up his emotions as he prepared to return to his country. Chiang Ko, who was shot in the stomach and was hospitalised for over a week at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital, left the country on Monday, but expressed hope that the culprits will be identified soon. The crew of TVBS channel was fired upon by unidentified gunmen on September 19, injuring two of them.
A red alert has been sounded across New Delhi after the incident in which the two bikers are said to have fired 7-8 rounds on the stationary vehicle adjacent to gate number three of the mosque and 100 metres away from the house of Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari at around 11.30 am.
The Allahabad high Court has put a hold on an FIR order against several policemen, including former Sambhal circle officer Anuj Kumar Chaudhary, regarding an alleged firing incident, pending further hearing.
Firing a fresh salvo, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Monday challenged the Sahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid to contest and win the election for the post of mayor from Moradabad. Khan said if Syed Ahmad Bukhari did not forfeit his deposits, he will seek retirement from active politics. "I challenge Bukhari to contest an election for the post of mayor from Moradabad and win it. If he does not forfeit his deposits, I will quit politics," Khan said.
Lawyers on Wednesday protested against the transfer of Sambhal Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Vibhanshu Sudheer, alleging that the move undermines judicial independence.
The city police on Wednesday told a Delhi court that six of the seven Indian Mujahideen operatives arrested recently have confessed about their involvement in the September 2010 blast near Jama Masjid.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the shahi imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, on Monday accused the ruling Samajawadi Party in Uttar Pradesh of taking late action in the Kosi Kalan communal riots and said he will give a second thought on supporting the party in the forthcoming municipal elections and 2014 general polls.
'This is an annual preventive exercise undertaken before the Republic Day air show. Birds such as black kites are naturally drawn to open areas and food sources, and if they enter the flying corridor, they can pose a serious hazard to aircraft performing low-level manoeuvres'
The affidavit has been filed according to the court directions to the government for developing the Jama Masjid and restore it to its pristine glory.
While multiple agencies are currently probing the car blast in Delhi and the recently busted white collar terror module spread across at least three states, Faridabad Police has formed a separate Special Investigation Team to look into the activities of Al Falah University, several of whose doctors were arrested in connection with the high profile case.
In Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir, however, Eid will be celebrated on Wednesday.
The blue-coloured ASI board, currently kept at the Satyavrat police outpost, is expected to be installed soon, replacing the older sign that bore the name "Shahi Jama Masjid."
An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team on Thursday carried out measurements and assessments ahead of the planned whitewashing and renovation work of the Shahi Jama Masjid, officials said.
A judicial commission has submitted its report to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding the violence that occurred in Sambhal in November 2024 during a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. The report addresses the events leading to the violence and potential demographic shifts in the region.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
The Allahabad high court on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to clean the premises of Jama Masjid in Sambhal but did not pass an order for whitewashing of the mosque.
Three men from Delhi were detained in Sambhal, India, for allegedly attempting to perform Hindu rituals, including a havan and puja, at the Shahi Jama Masjid. The incident occurred on Friday, with police citing concerns about public order and potential disruption to communal harmony. The mosque is a site of ongoing religious tensions, with four people having died in violence last year related to a court-ordered survey. The detainees claimed they were attempting to perform rituals at a nearby Vishnu Harihar temple.
The Allahabad high court on March 12 directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to undertake and complete the whitewashing at the mosque within one week.
The Sambhal administration in Uttar Pradesh has stated that no work should be carried out on the Shahi Jama Masjid without the approval of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This decision comes after the mosque's management committee sought permission to redecorate the mosque ahead of Ramzan. The matter is currently pending in court, and the property belongs to the ASI. The administration has emphasized that no tampering with the mosque is allowed until the ASI grants permission.
Tension has been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid was carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.
A court in Budaun will decide on December 24 whether to proceed with a hearing in the Jama Masjid Shamsi versus Neelkanth temple case. The dispute arose in 2022 when a Hindu group claimed the temple existed at the mosque site and sought permission to worship. The Supreme Court recently restrained all courts from entertaining and passing any orders on lawsuits seeking surveys of religious places under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The Muslim side argues that the lower court should not proceed with the hearing as it cannot pass any orders, while the Hindu side maintains the Supreme Court order does not stop the hearing. The court will now decide whether to continue the proceedings.
A court in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has directed the court-appointed commissioner to submit a survey report on the Jama Masjid mosque within 10 days. The survey was ordered following claims that a temple stood on the site. The court set the next hearing date for January 8. Tensions have been escalating in Sambhal since November 19 when the survey began, leading to violence on November 24 that resulted in four deaths and injuries.
The Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, moved the high court challenging the suit and the Sambhal court order which directed the survey through an advocate commissioner.
Zafar Ali, the president of the Shahi Jama Masjid committee in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Sunday in connection with the violence that erupted in November 2022 over a court-ordered survey of the mosque. Ali's brother alleged that the arrest was intended to prevent him from submitting his testimony before a judicial commission investigating the violence. The mosque has been at the center of a controversy after a petition claimed it was the site of an ancient Hindu temple. The violence resulted in four deaths and several injuries.
Eyewitnesses described a deafening blast that rattled windows and left locals in a state of panic, with seven fire tenders rushing to the scene to battle the flames.
The Allahabad high court on Wednesday stayed further proceedings before a civil court hearing the dispute over Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal.
The survey report of the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal expected on Monday, was not presented by the advocate commissioner entrusted with it, after he sought an extension of 15 days citing ill health.
The Supreme Court of India will hear a petition challenging a district court's order to survey a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. The petition alleges that the hasty survey has led to communal tensions and violence, resulting in deaths and injuries. The petitioners argue that the survey was ordered without proper notice or hearing, and they seek a stay on the proceedings and a directive to prevent such surveys from being ordered as a matter of course in cases involving disputes over places of worship.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed a Sambhal trial court to temporarily halt proceedings in the case over the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid and its survey at Chandausi while directing the UP government to maintain peace and harmony in the violence-hit town.
Holi and Friday prayers passed peacefully in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh amid tight security, officials said.
The Uttar Pradesh government has informed the Supreme Court that the disputed "private well" near the Mughal-era Jama Masjid mosque in Sambhal was situated on public land. The state government said the petitioner failed to disclose there was a well within the boundary walls of the mosque known locally as "yagna koop". The committee, in a spot inspection, found that the well was situated outside the mosque boundary wall, the report said. The report said the state was committed to ensuring peace and harmony in the region and any restraint on the use of such public wells by the community at large may not help in achieving that goal.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a status quo on a private well located near the entrance of the Sambhal Jama Masjid, prohibiting any action regarding the well without its permission. The order came in response to a plea by the mosque's management committee, which challenged a lower court order that allowed a survey of the mosque, citing concerns over violence and loss of life during previous surveys. The court also instructed the authorities to file a status report within two weeks.
Local residents shared their memories of the temple, with many highlighting its importance as a religious site for the community.
Seven FIRs have been lodged in connection with the violence over a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, naming Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood's son Sohail Iqbal as accused. Three people were killed and scores of others injured on Sunday as protesters opposing the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid clashed with police. The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders into Sambhal till November 30.
Authorities have demolished a 128-year-old mosque in Assam's Dibrugarh to construct a drainage system for solving the waterlogging problem in the town, officials said on Thursday.
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