All residents of Kadalpur Village in Greater Noida — Hindus and Muslims alike —celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on Friday rejecting the Uttar Pradesh Government's claim of communal tension in the village that led to suspension of Sub-Divisional Magistrate Durga Shakti Nagpal.
The residents of the village accused the Government of putting the blame on villagers for justifying its move to suspend Nagpal, who had launched a crackdown on sand mafia in the region. They said the village has no history of communal violence and they are being victimised by the politicians for personal gain. Even on the occasion of 'Eid-ul-Fitr', there was no hint of communal tension in the village.
On Friday, the villagers, mostly Muslims, offered prayers on the purported site of illegal construction and reiterated their demand to construct mosque on it. Describing the entire controversy as the handiwork of politicians, the villagers said that their corrective measures helped in averting any untoward situation after the demolition drive as the major political parties had started instigating people of the surrounding villages.
"When the condition of the village got tensed, we communicated with all communities and discussed the issue properly which helped restore peace. But a few political elements are still busy creating stir to garner minority votes in coming elections," said Safiq Khan, Gram Pradhan of Kadalpur village.
Khan said that the decision to construct mosque on Gram Sabha land was taken 10 years ago and a temporary structure was built to offer prayers that collapsed nearly 18 months back. "The Government's attempt to communalise the whole issue will not gain momentum as the ground reality is absolutely different. It was the Gram Sabha, comprising representatives of all sections of the society, that took a unanimous decision to build a mosque two years back and we have been collecting money for the same. Even two-and-half years ago, a villager from the minority community, donated almost half acre of land to construct a temple on the outskirts of Kadalpur village for building the religious structure," said the village head.
Mukti Rashid Khan, Imam of Jama Masjid in Noida, said that there was absolutely no communal rift before and after the demolition. "The Government has taken the decision in haste to gain minority votes, but this attempt will only tarnish their image. They should first set up a high-level enquiry and then go through its report properly," he said. Another Muslim Cleric, Haji Babu Khan, said that they are fed up with the Government's attempt to malign the image of the village. "We are disappointed with the political parties especially ruling party due to their opportunistic politics on the entire controversy. They should help in ensuring peace in the region rather than dividing people on the name of caste, creed and community,' said the cleric.