COURT ORDER DEFIED, MUSLIMS DENIED ACCESS TO MOSQUE

The 200-year-old mosque of Aapo Aap was captured after the Partition. But the Punjab Wakf Board won the case against the illegal occupant Jatinder Kumar Bansal s/o Late Ch. Ved Parkash in the Civil Court of Nabha in 1968. The illegal occupant challenged the order in Addl District Judge, Patiala but again lost there in 1969. As the locality has very few Muslim houses and due to little support from the district administration of Patiala, the wakf board could not take control of the mosque till today.

“The local Muslims decided to reconstruct the mosque and got No Objection Certificate from Punjab Wakf Board vide no.31ESD/Pb/4072-74 dated 18/10/2011 to rebuild the demolished mosque on own cost, but the Muslims of Nabha were stopped and forced to quit the site with threats of dire consequences by the illegal occupant,” said Adv. Javed Afzal, a resident of the area. He further said the police did not help them and did not provide any protection.” In Nabha alone there were five such mosques won by the wakf board. But they could not take control of them. After change of some hands they were ultimately converted into gurudwaras,” said Adv. Afzal.