A portion of the Shahi Masjid mosque in Ujjain sustained damage while the local municipal corporation was removing a minaret on Thursday.

Ujjain Collector Roshan Kumar Singh said a portion of the mosque at Chhatri Chowk was damaged while the section affected by the road widening was being removed.

A Shahi Masjid committee member, meanwhile, questioned the urgency shown by the administration while members of the community were themselves removing portions of the mosque.

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Collector Singh said, “The affected portion of the mosque at Chhatri Chowk suffered some damage during the process of removing the section coming in the way of the road widening. However, there has been no loss of life, no one has been injured and no one is trapped anywhere.”

He appealed to people not to pay heed to rumours or unverified information. “Please do not pay any attention to any kind of rumour. Members of the religious community and other members of society are present here, and discussions are being held with them,” he said.

Singh warned that strict action would be taken against anyone attempting to spread misinformation or misleading reports.

A Shahi Masjid committee member said, “When our people were removing the mosque, taking down the grilles and bringing down the minarets, what was the hurry? Why did you have to intervene when the minarets were being removed?”

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‘Will continue peaceful protests’

He said members of the mosque committee had already held discussions with the administration over the issue, adding the community would continue to oppose the demolition through peaceful protests. “We will continue to protest through peaceful demonstrations and all democratic forms of protest. God willing, we will get our mosque back,” he said.

Significantly, following an agreement reached with the city administration on Monday, mosque committee members along with volunteers from the community have been removing portions of the structure by themselves. The road-widening work is being undertaken across the city in preparation for the upcoming Simhastha 2028 in Ujjain.

On September 28, a clash erupted during the removal of the portion of the historic mosque. Although the administration and mosque representatives had reached an understanding that the affected portion would be removed by members of the community, a crowd had gathered at Chhatri Chowk, amid a flurry of social-media messages and alleged misinformation about the extent of the demolition.

The situation escalated into stone-pelting at police personnel, following which police used tear gas and lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.

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Police registered multiple FIRs in connection with the violence, alleged misinformation and provocative social-media posts.

Ujjain Superintendent of Police (SP) Pradeep Sharma said 15 people had initially been detained and an FIR registered against seven, including social-media content creators.

By September 30, police said eight FIRs had been registered against 35 people, with 20 arrested and produced before court. Investigators were also examining CCTV, drone footage and social-media posts to identify others involved in the violence.