Baba Peer mazar bulldozed in ‘anti-encroachment’ drive in UP
New Delhi: Authorities in Uttar Pradesh demolished the Sher Ali Baba Peer mazaar in Sambhal district’s Sirsi area as part of an “anti-encroachment drive” on government land.
According to Kashmir Media Service, officials said the shrine was built illegally on 200 bighas of recorded lake land.
Sambhal Tehsildar Dhirendra Pratap Singh stated that farmers had encroached on the area for cultivation and attempted to establish a claim by constructing the shrine.
A 22-square-metre tomb-like structure was also demolished. Singh said a case against the shrine’s custodian was filed earlier, and after his death with no objections filed, an eviction order was issued before demolition. The administration said the drive would continue.
The action follows similar demolitions in Sambhal, including a mosque and 80 homes in Hatim Sarai in October 2025, and the Raza-e-Mustafa Mosque in Chandausi in June 2025, all cited for encroachment on government land. However, local Muslims term the entire process Islamophobic, saying it targets the Muslim minority.
