The dispute over an alleged unauthorised mosque near Mumbai airport is set to escalate, with BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya saying he will approach Sahar police with lawyers to seek registration of a first information report. The development places an alleged structure in an airport-related area at the centre of a dispute involving public land, security and enforcement authority.
According to a report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai, Somaiya said he would reach Sahar Airport Police Station at 5 pm on October 29 with around 100 lawyers. The report’s headline refers to 500 lawyers, while its detailed account and summary state that the planned group would comprise about 100 lawyers. The discrepancy has not been resolved in the supplied material.
Somaiya has alleged that a mosque has been built illegally on about 5,000 square feet of government land near the VIP arrival gate of Terminal 2. The report does not include an official land record, airport authority statement, municipal notice, police complaint or court order confirming the ownership of the land, the legality of the structure or the existence of an offence.
The BJP leader’s planned police visit follows an earlier protest over the same allegation. The report says Somaiya held a “jail bharo satyagraha” on October 24 with around 100 supporters, demanding the removal of the structure. Mumbai Police detained him and the participating workers before taking them to Sahar police station, after which they were released, according to the report.
The earlier protest also involved supporters reaching the site, with some carrying hammers, the report says. Police detained the group during the episode. The report does not state whether any demolition attempt took place, whether airport operations were disrupted or whether authorities registered a case in connection with the protest.
The latest announcement has an immediate operational dimension because the proposed gathering is linked to Sahar police station and an area adjoining Terminal 2. Navbharat Times – Mumbai reported that security at the airport complex was increased after Somaiya announced his plan. It did not identify the agency that ordered the additional security, provide the number of personnel deployed or describe any restrictions placed on airport access.
At the centre of the dispute are separate questions that require official clarification: which agency controls the land, whether the structure has planning or construction permission, whether it lies within airport-controlled premises and what legal process applies if an unauthorised construction is established. The supplied report does not record responses from the airport operator, the Airports Authority of India, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai Police or representatives of the mosque.
Somaiya has warned that the structure could become a permanent encroachment if it is not removed, according to the report. That remains an allegation rather than an established finding in the material available for this report. The next documented step is Somaiya’s proposed visit to Sahar police station at 5 pm, where he said a complaint would be submitted and an FIR sought.
