Authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district intensified enforcement operations targeting electricity theft and unlawful encroachments on government land. Senior officials, including the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, personally oversaw late-night raids in the Deepa Sarai area, accompanied by substantial police deployment to maintain order during the interventions.

Inspections revealed multiple instances of illegal electricity usage in residential properties, prompting immediate disconnection of unauthorized connections. Teams recovered appliances such as immersion rods and heaters indicative of power theft. The operations occurred in close proximity to the residence of Sambhal MP Ziaur Rehman Barq, with officials noting precedents from previous actions that uncovered similar violations linked to religious institutions supplying power to surrounding households.

In Salempur Salar village, local residents preemptively dismantled an unauthorized mosque constructed on approximately 439 square meters of Gram Samaj land. Community members, including mosque committee representatives, arranged private machinery to demolish the structure overnight between January 3 and 4, ahead of the scheduled administrative demolition, thereby averting potential escalation.

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Administrative bulldozers were deployed in Hajipur village to remove an illegal madrasa occupying around 4,000 square meters on 2.5 bigha of Gram Panchayat land, which also hosted commercial activities. Despite prior notices providing opportunities for voluntary removal, non-compliance necessitated official intervention to reclaim the encroached property.

Further action in Rawa Buzurg village completed the demolition of another unauthorized mosque on 552 square meters of government land, with the process spanning phases from October 2025 to January 4, 2026. Initial assurances from villagers to self-remove the structure went unfulfilled, leading to direct administrative measures that underscore the ongoing campaign against encroachments and power theft across the district.

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