SRINAGAR (APP) – The Indian army has stopped the re-construction of a pre-Partition-era mosque inside the Badami Bagh garrison in Srinagar and offering of prayers there.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the mosque, built during the reign of Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh, was being reconstructed in Saddar Bazar area of the cantonment, which is the headquarters of the Indian army’s 15 Corps.
The angry locals said that the mosque was made out of bounds by one Colonel Malhotra on last Thursday and no one was being allowed to go near it. The worshippers were not allowed to offer Friday prayers last week.
“We pooled funds to carry out the construction work. One floor of the mosque was completed and only the slab was to be laid. However, an officer came last Thursday and ordered that no construction work should be allowed,” said a trader, requesting anonymity.
After the officer’s order, he said, the army deployed Military Police to ensure that no one walks through the restricted area. He said that the signboard erected outside the Masjid was also removed.
“The army raised another sign board at the entrance that reads `out of bounds.’
