Muzaffarnagar: The local administration in Uttar Pradesh has concluded a six-day demolition drive targeting the Darul Uloom Rahimiya madrasa located in Phulat village under the jurisdiction of the Ratanpuri police station in Muzaffarnagar district. The operation concluded on Saturday evening by 4 PM, backed by heavy deployment of police personnel from Ratanpuri and Khatauli to maintain law and order. Throughout the operation, bulldozers and Poclain machines were deployed to systematically raze all the buildings and the minaret associated with the madrasa.
Details of the Land Dispute and Legal Actions
According to administrative officials, the entire structure was built illegally on village common land (gram sabha land). Revenue department inspections revealed that the property belonged to the government, leading to its official classification as government land on August 17 and rendering the construction unauthorized. Based on this verification, senior revenue officers including the tehsildar and additional district magistrate ordered the demolition.
The controversy intensified after Swami Yashvir Ji Maharaj, a seer associated with Yog Sadhana Ashram, lodged complaints accusing the madrasa management of forcing Hindu youths into religious conversions. Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Verma stated that based on these formal complaints, law enforcement registered a case against madrasa manager Maulana Hifzur Rahman Ansari and his two sons, Zubair Ansari and Junaid Ansari. The charges invoked sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Police have already arrested both sons and sent them to judicial custody. Authorities noted that under police supervision, the madrasa management had also been voluntarily dismantling portions of the unauthorized structure over the preceding six days.
Reactions from Local Leaders and Prior Operations
Swami Yashvir Ji Maharaj released a video message on social media expressing satisfaction with the administration's actions. In his statement, he thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the district administration for taking decisive steps following complaints regarding conversions at the Phulat village site.
Uttar Pradesh Minister of State Kapil अग्रवाल also issued a public statement defending the demolition. He asserted that while the location should have functioned as a temple of education, it had instead transformed into a hub for illegal encroachment and unlawful religious conversions over an extended period. The minister alleged that systematic conversion activities were conducted from the premises, noting that certain young girls and women had previously been recovered from the location. He praised the district administration for executing a lawful and socially necessary measure against the Darul Uloom Rehmania madrasa.
This enforcement follows a series of similar state actions, including an operation in Sambhal where authorities cleared 10.5 bighas of government land by demolishing an unauthorized eidgah and mosque. Additionally, authorities in Sambhal previously targeted an illegal imambara after the occupants failed to respond to official notices.
