The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered an investigation into the trust that built the 108-foot Hanuman statue in the city’s Karol Bagh locality. The bench said the tall structure could not have been built overnight “without the active connivance of the local authorities”, PTI reported.

The court was hearing petitions related to illegal constructions and encroachments in Karol Bagh.

“Nothing would have happened, if we [the civic agencies and the government] would have been doing our job,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar observed. The court said the land belongs to the city and not to “the individual sitting in the government office”, so it has to be returned to the public.

The High Court also asked the Delhi Police to investigate the details of the money deposited into the bank accounts of the trust that built the Hanuman statue. It told the Delhi Development Authority and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to provide details of officials responsible for the construction of the 108-foot structure.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court had said that everyone involved in constructing the Hanuman statue and surrounding illegal structures should be prosecuted. “Will prayers reach the God if you pray from illegal encroachments on pavements?” the bench had asked.

A court-appointed panel had found that there was encroachment of up to 1,170 square yards on land that belonged to the Delhi Development Authority on Old Link Road.