By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 20 Nov: In a case of rare daredevilry, the ‘contractor’ constructing the boundary wall along The Doon School has again reconstructed the Mazaar at the same place where it was demolished by the district administration some days ago. However, what is even more surprising is the fact that though the police have again registered an FIR against the contractor, in the FIR he remains unidentified.
A case of the re-construction of the demolished Mazaar in the campus area of The Doon School located under Cantt police station area has been reported. After the re-construction of this Mazaar, protests have also started against the fresh development. It may be recalled that the construction of a Mazaar in the campus of The Doon School had hit national headlines recently. The Mazaar had allegedly been constructed by the contractor hired by PWD’s Smart City Project Unit by moving the boundary wall of the school inside. After much hue and cry, the administration had stepped in and demolished the Mazaar.
However, this Mazaar has been reconstructed again, and in high probability by the same contractor who had been hired to construct the boundary wall of the school along the road. Even in the past, while the Mazaar had been demolished, the administration and the government had taken no action against the contractor responsible for this. Probably emboldened by the lack of action against him and probably also with some hidden support from some people within the administration, the contractor again constructed the demolished Mazaar.
Now, in response to the seriousness of the matter, a case has been registered against the “unknown” contractor based on the complaint of Bindal Chowki In-charge. The police are searching for the unknown contractor. Political analysts have expressed shock and surprise over the fact that the police are unable to identify the contractor hired by the Smart City unit of PWD and have only registered a case against an “unknown” contractor. SSP Dehradun, Ajai Singh, has also stated that based on the complaint of Bindal outpost in-charge, a case has been registered against the unknown contractor in Cantt police station under Section Three of the Public Property Damage Prevention Act. He also claimed that this illegal construction is seen as an attempt to spoil communal harmony.
It may be recalled that recently, photos and videos regarding the Mazaar had gone viral, leading to protests from various Hindu organisations. Following the protests, the administration had to swing into action and demolish the Mazaar. However, now the Mazaar has been reconstructed. The police have registered a case against the unknown contractor and started an investigation. It is surprising that the police are unable to find out who the contractor hired by the PWD is, name him in the FIR, and arrest him.
It may be recalled that while some police officials claim that there had been a Mazaar in the campus for some time, the Doon School administration has never claimed this. There has been visible anger among the local people regarding the Mazaar. To maintain communal harmony and peace, the administration team went to the spot a few days ago and demolished the purported tomb again. An administrative investigation found that this construction violated the 2016 policy regarding the construction of unauthorised religious structures on public roads, public parks, and other public places. The report of this investigation has also been given to the police, sources claimed. That the reconstruction could again be done overnight without the local police and the administration coming to know of this is also a matter of investigation.
