Tension in Ujjain as part of Shahi Masjid demolished, police fire tear gas after stone-pelting
Part of Ujjain's Shahi Masjid was demolished for a road widening project, sparking protests, stone-pelting and tear gas, with a High Court hearing due.
Tension has gripped the Abdalpura area of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh after part of the Shahi Masjid was demolished. The action has drawn divided opinion within the Muslim community, with one group willing to have the entire mosque removed and another insisting on continued opposition. Over the past two days, local residents and members of the Muslim community have gathered in large numbers outside the mosque to protest after news of the demolition.
On the night of Sunday, September 27, 2026, when a heavy police force arrived at the site along with JCB and Poclain machines, people came out onto the streets and began raising slogans against the police administration. To keep the situation under control, the administration deployed about 2,000 police personnel in the area. Movement has been completely blocked within a 500 metre radius of the mosque after barricades were put up. Women were prominent among those protesting.
The crowd calmed down at night after police and administrative officials appealed to them. Following the overnight tension, it was expected that community members would come forward on Monday morning and begin removing the disputed part of the mosque by mutual agreement. But this did not happen, and large scale protests began again in the area on Monday as well. During this, an angry crowd pelted stones at the police, who responded by firing tear gas shells.
The action is linked to a road widening project ahead of the Simhastha, under which a road about 900 metres long from Kantal Chowk to Gopal Mandir is to be widened to 15 metres. Seven religious sites in all fell along this stretch, most of which have already been removed with mutual consent. However, the situation remains serious over the Khadi Hanuman Mandir and the Shahi Masjid, which fall in the stretch between Khadi Hanuman Mandir and Gopal Mandir. A hearing in the matter is scheduled in the High Court today.
A legal battle is also underway over the dispute. A section of the Muslim community has approached the Indore High Court to try to save the Shahi Masjid from the road widening project, where an important hearing in the case was scheduled for Monday.
