The authorities in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday demolished a mosque situated within the Saharanpur district magistrate’s office complex, The Times of India reported. The demolition followed a court’s decision to uphold an earlier order declaring the structure illegal.Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan alleged that she was placed under house arrest by police at her Kairana residence to prevent her from travelling to Saharanpur, ANI reported.The demolition followed a complaint by a former office bearer of the Bajrang Dal, who alleged that the mosque had been illegally constructed inside the district magistrate office complex, a sensitive government premises where confidential administrative work is conducted, The Times of India reported.The Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad are part of a group of Hindutva outfits led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.On July 17, the city magistrate’s court ordered the mosque’s demolition and directed its occupants to pay around Rs 6.41 crore as compensation, citing alleged encroachment and unauthorised use of government land. The order was challenged before the district judge’s court, which on Friday upheld the decision.On Saturday, the Kairana MP said that the mosque was sealed and barricades were erected around the area after a lower civil court passed its order. “People wanted to speak to the officials to request some time regarding the matter. People wanted to approach the High Court,” she said.She added that a large police force was deployed at her residence overnight. “I intended to visit Saharanpur to meet officials regarding the Collectorate mosque issue,” Hasan said, adding that she was not allowed to leave her home.“In a democracy, public representatives are elected to raise the voice of the people,” ANI quoted her as saying. “That voice cannot be suppressed by stopping me.”Describing the demolition as “shameful”, Hasan said the manner in which the action was carried out showed how “democracy has been murdered”.Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi also raised concern about the “rush” with which the mosque was demolished. “Why not wait for the matter to be heard in the higher courts, where arguments could be presented?” PTI quoted him as saying. “This shows that the [Bharatiya Janata Party] in Uttar Pradesh did not want the case to reach the higher courts because they knew they were in the wrong.” He added: “The BJP government and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh are acting unconstitutionally, leading to the demolition of not just one, but several mosques and the destruction of graveyards in the region.”“We want to ask, does the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, framed by Babasaheb Ambedkar in the Constitution of India, not apply to Muslims?” Owaisi said.Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.