The state forest department, in an operation with the Bahraich district administration and the district police, demolished four old mazars (shrines) located in the Murthia Range of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, citing “illegal construction on forest land.” Forest department officers said that the shrines were situated within a protected area and classified them as “encroachments”.
Among the four demolished shrines was the Dargah of Hazrat Sayyed Mohammad Hashim Ali Shah, also known as Lakkad Shah Baba, where fairs had been regularly organised in the past. Recently, the forest department denied permission for the fair there, following which the shrine management committee raised an objection.
Forest officers said that permission was denied because the proposed fair site falls within the core area of the forest, where public access is “strictly prohibited”.
The other three shrines — Bhavar Shah, Chaman Shah, and Shahenshah — which were demolished were located in the range of around half-a-kilometre.
The demolition began on Sunday night and continued until Monday morning.
On Sunday night, a large-scale operation was launched by the forest department with support from the local police and administration. Heavy police presence, including personnel from the Provincial Armed Constabulary, was deployed at the site. Public access was restricted, and bulldozers were used to demolish all four shrines.
Forest officers said that access to the area was limited due to the risk of wildlife attacks.
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Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, B Shivshankar said the forest court had declared the structures as “encroachments on forest land”.
Forest staff, Special Tiger Protection Force, local police, and Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed at the site, he said.
Asked why mediapersons were kept off the site, Shivshankar said, “The area falls in a jungle zone where the presence of wild animals could lead to human-wildlife conflict, hence access was restricted.”
District Magistrate Monika Rani, however, directed that mediapersons may be allowed limited access to the site under the forest officials’ supervision.
According to the forest department, in response to the notice issued by the forest department, the shrine committee objected and submitted documents claiming the land was Waqf property.
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To support their claim, the shrine committee presented documents showing that the land was registered with the Waqf Board in 1986.
However, forest department officials claimed that the committee failed to provide any proof of ownership prior to 1986, while the Indian Forest Act predates that registration. The DFO said the construction was determined to be an encroachment on forest land.
An eviction order was issued on June 5 and when the encroachment was not removed voluntarily, a demolition drive was carried out last night.
Secretary of the shrine committee, Esrar Ahmed, claimed that the Lakkad Shah Baba shrine was nearly 1,000 years old and that gatherings were held every Friday, along with a Basant Panchami fair attended by people from across the district and beyond.
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He added that the committee received a notice from the Forest Tribunal on April 30, declaring the land on which the shrines stood as “forest land” and terming the structures as “encroachments”.
