Mosque sealed in Uttarakhand's Rajaji Tiger Reserve following SC's order

A decades-old mosque in the Ramgarh Range of Uttarakhand's Rajaji Tiger Reserve was sealed on Tuesday in a joint operation by the sanctuary administration and police.

Ramgarh Range Forest Officer Ajay Dhyani stated that the mosque, located on 0.0008 hectares of forest land in the Asha Rodi Forest Beat of the range, was sealed in compliance with a Supreme Court order issued on September 3. He explained that the Supreme Court order prohibits any human activity within the sanctuary premises.

The officer said that after the mosque was sealed in the presence of police force, a warning board was put up outside the mosque, saying that violators would face legal action under forest laws.

He said that after the Forest Department objected to the mosque, some people approached the Supreme Court against it. However, the government strongly argued in court, pointing out that the mosque was built on protected forest land within the sanctuary, where human activities are prohibited by law.