Muslim man arrested for impersonating a Hindu at Ujjain temple

The accused, identified as Muhammad Yunus Mullah who hails from Belgaum in Karnataka, visited Ujjain with his friend, a Hindu woman, on Tuesday, police said

A 32-year-old Muslim man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly impersonating a Hindu man to enter the Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, police said.

The accused, who hails from Belgaum in Karnataka, visited Ujjain with a friend on Tuesday. (Archives/ Representational use)

The accused, identified as Muhammad Yunus Mullah, who hails from Belgaum in Karnataka, visited Ujjain with a friend, a Hindu woman, on Tuesday, police said.

“On Wednesday morning, Yunus and his friend attended Bhasm Aarti. Yunus was sitting in the front row and was not able to follow the rituals. Some people from the temple management raised doubts, and when they asked for his ID, he showed an Aadhaar card with the name Abhishek Dubey on it. However, after the temple management interrogated him further, he showed his real ID card. They handed him over to Mahakaal police station,” said Pallavi Shukla, city superintendent of police, Ujjain.

Shukla said, “Yunus and his friend showed their real Aadhaar cards in a hotel to get a room, but the hotel management refused to give them a room and informed the police.”

“Police didn’t take any action after checking their ID cards as two people from different religions can travel together. But he hid his identity in the temple, and so, an FIR (first information report) was registered on the complaint of the temple management,” Shukla said.

Yunus was arrested and booked under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for using a fake ID and for impersonation, an official from the Mahakaal police station said.

Temple administrator Ganesh Dhakad said, “We found the activities of the man suspicious. He entered the temple premises by showing a wrong identity card. We handed him over to the police.”