Clash erupts in India's Ujjain as authorities move to demolish part of mosque for road widening

Tension gripped Ujjain city in India's Madhya Pradesh state today (28 September) as members of the local Muslim community, including women, protested local civic authorities' attempt to partially demolish a mosque for a road-widening project, Indian media reported.

Sporadic incidents of stone-throwing were reported, with police lobbing tear gas shells to control the situation, according to ANI.

Over 2,000 police personnel were deployed in the area, while authorities placed barricades within 500 metres of the religious structure to restrict movement.

The clash came as the Ujjain Municipal Corporation began the process of removing the portion of the mosque that falls within the proposed alignment of the road to be widened.

A large crowd gathered at the site as the action began, with police and protesters coming face-to-face, The Indian Express reported. 

Today's incident follows two days of resistance by residents to the proposed removal. 

Last night, police and municipal teams arrived with a backhoe loader and other heavy machinery, but a large gathering outside the mosque prevented the administration from proceeding with the operation.

The protesters also spent the night inside the mosque, saying they would not allow any part of the religious structure to be removed.

The dispute revolves around the proposed widening of a roughly 900-metre stretch of the road. Several religious structures fall within the alignment. Most of the affected structures have already been removed, according to reports, leaving the Shahi Mosque as the main point of resistance.

The mosque committee and members of the Muslim community have argued that the road should be widened through an alternative alignment or by removing structures opposite the mosque.

They have also challenged the proposed removal in court, contending the mosque, which is registered as a Waqf property, should be protected as a religious structure.

On September 9, Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore Bench dismissed two petitions challenging the Ujjain Municipal Corporation's decision, holding that the authorities had followed the statutory procedure and that the proposed removal did not violate Articles 14, 25, 26 or 300A of the Indian Constitution.

The mosque committee has since approached a division bench, with the matter scheduled for hearing today.