Amid tight security, a portion of the 185-year-old Noori Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district was demolished by local authorities on Tuesday claiming it was illegal and obstructing the widening of the Banda-Bahraich Highway. “About 20 metres of Noori Masjid, which was obstructing the widening of Banda-Bahraich Highway No. 13, was demolished by a bulldozer,” police station said on Tuesday.

The mosque's management committee chief, however, claimed that the Noori Masjid in Lalauli town was constructed in 1839 while the road around it came up only in 1956, and said they have already moved the Allahabad HC which will take up the petition on December 12. The PWD had eaelier  given a notice to remove some parts of the mosque due to their "illegal construction".