#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh: A large group of people clashes with Police in Ujjain at the spot where a portion of Shahi Masjid is planned to be demolished for a road-widening project. A heavy police force remains deployed in the area. pic.twitter.com/jeq03Wcd5s

— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2026

Police had made extensive security arrangements around the mosque following the overnight standoff, when hundreds of residents and members of the Muslim community had gathered at the site to prevent the proposed removal.

VIDEO | Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh: Administration on high alert amid Shahi Masjid dispute; heavy police deployment in Gopal Mandir area.

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) pic.twitter.com/wVgsbEbgFH

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 28, 2026

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The administration has deployed a large police contingent in the area, with reports putting the deployment at around 2,000 personnel. Barricades have been placed around the mosque and movement has been restricted in an approximately 500-metre radius as authorities seek to prevent the confrontation from spreading. Senior police and administrative officials are at the spot.

The immediate confrontation follows two days of resistance by residents to the proposed removal. On Sunday night, police and municipal teams had arrived with JCB and other heavy machinery, but a large gathering outside the mosque prevented the administration from proceeding with the operation. Community members had also spent the night inside the mosque, saying they would not allow any part of the religious structure to be removed.

There had been attempts overnight to resolve the standoff through discussions between the administration and representatives of the mosque. Some reports said an understanding had been reached under which members of the community would themselves remove the affected portion, but the arrangement did not hold and opposition resumed when the removal process began on Monday.

The dispute centres on the proposed widening of the road between Kanthal Chauraha and Gopal Mandir. The roughly 900-metre stretch is being widened to 15 metres as part of preparations for Simhastha 2028, and several religious structures fall within the alignment. Most of the affected structures have already been removed, according to reports, leaving the Shahi Masjid as the main point of resistance.

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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, arguing that the mosque, which is registered as a Waqf property, should be protected as a religious structure.

The legal challenge is continuing even as the administration proceeds on the ground. The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore Bench had on September 9 dismissed two petitions challenging the 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 Constitution. The court also took note of the road’s importance for traffic management during Simhastha and the location of the mosque near the Mahakaleshwar Temple and Kshipra river.

The mosque committee has since approached a Division Bench, with the matter scheduled for hearing on Monday.