British-era mazar demolished at Dehradun’s Medical College amid tight security

A British-era mazar, built on the premises of the Government Medical College in Dehradun, was demolished by the district administration amid tight security in the early hours of Saturday, when the entire city was asleep.

The demolition drive, carried out around 2 am, was executed so swiftly that not a single piece of rubble was left at the site to avoid any untoward incident during the day.

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The demolition was undertaken by a joint team of the Municipal Corporation, State Public Works Department, Doon Hospital Administration, and Dehradun District Administration, in a well-planned operation to avoid public attention.

The demolition team ran a bulldozer over the mazar, razed the structure, and cleared the debris within minutes under tight security.

Interestingly, caretakers of the decades-old mazar were previously served notices by the district administration regarding its illegal location on encroached government land within the hospital premises. However, no action was taken by the caretakers.

Doon Hospital authorities had earlier requested the district administration to remove the mazar, as it was located at the hospital’s entrance.

There were also complaints against the mazar caretakers for allegedly influencing patients admitted to the hospital under the guise of providential healing.

The significance of the demolition lies in the fact that the mazar was located in the heart of the state capital and had become a center of devotion for both Muslims and Hindus over time.

Interestingly, no one in Dehradun knew which seer or saint was buried in the tomb—not even the caretakers.

Officials from Doon Hospital and the district administration claimed that the mazar site was originally a horse stable during the British regime, and a horse belonging to a British colonel was buried there. Over time, the tomb was turned into a place of devotion.

Officials further informed that nearly 600 illegal religious structures built on government land have been demolished over the past year, following Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s directive to remove such encroachments.