An illegal Mazar was constructed overnight inside the premises of a Municipal Corporation Primary School in B4 Nandnagari, Delhi, turning a children’s playground into contested territory. The makeshift structure, named Jhod Wale Peer Baba, was never part of any approved plan but now occupies land meant for students’ recreation.
The controversy erupted after a video from the site went viral, showing a Muslim man and women gathered around the newly built shrine. The footage triggered widespread outrage, with citizens accusing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) of willful negligence and even possible complicity in allowing the encroachment.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Priyank Kanungo took swift cognisance of the matter after the video surfaced online. “This is wrong. Email the details in this regard, we will take action to remove it,” Kanungo publicly declared, stressing that such blatant land grabs encroach on the fundamental rights of schoolchildren. His intervention has elevated the matter from a local grievance to a national concern, placing authorities under intense scrutiny.
Public reaction has been immediate and scathing. Social media users slammed MCD officials for failing to safeguard public property, with many alleging deliberate inaction. “This is the result of MCD’s negligence… Action should be taken against the officials responsible,” wrote user Raj Rajput. Another demanded, “Suspend the principal and uproot the Mazar immediately.”
Citizens also expressed alarm over a growing pattern — government schools and other public lands being targeted for religious encroachments under the guise of faith while civic authorities remain passive. The man recording the viral video questioned the administration’s absence: “No municipal corporation official has reached the school yet. Do these children have any rights or not? How can these people enter the school and do this work?”
