DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Police is yet to arrest or summon any person in connection with the vandalised “mazaar” (shrine) on private land in Mussoorie on January 24 because the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) invoked in this case do not require the accused’s arrest, a local police officer said on Monday.
Mussoorie circle officer Manoj Aswal said, “No arrests have been made in the case so far, as BNS sections invoked in the FIR don’t mandate arrest. The accused have also not yet been summoned to appear before the investigation officer (IO). The FIR (First Information Report) was registered on Sunday, and on Monday, we were engaged in Republic Day celebrations. As we begin the investigation, we will identify the culprits and take further action.”
On Saturday evening, members of a Hindu right-wing outfit allegedly vandalised the shrine, believed to be over 100 years old, at Baba Bulleh Shah Mazaar, located on the property of Wynberg-Allen School, a reputed co-ed boarding school in Bala Hissar area of the hill town.
Baba Bulleh Shah (1680–1757) was a renowned Punjabi Sufi saint, poet, philosopher, and humanist. He is best known for his kafis (devotional poems) that challenge religious orthodoxy, caste divisions, and blind ritualism, while emphasising love, self-realisation, and unity with the divine.
Lalit Sharma, the state chief of a right-wing outfit, Hindu Raksha Dal, on Sunday claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the shrine was vandalised by members of his group. “This is Devbhoomi, and we will not tolerate a mazaar of anyone whose tomb is in Pakistan. It has been here for only 100 years, and Sanatan Dharma has existed for thousands of years, so it was an encroachment. We had announced two days ago that we would vandalise it. Even if someone does something wrong on private property, we cannot accept it,” Sharma said on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Lalit Sharma, the state chief of a right-wing outfit, Hindu Raksha Dal, on Sunday claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the shrine was vandalised by members of his group. “This is Devbhoomi, and we will not tolerate a mazaar of anyone whose tomb is in Pakistan. It has been here for only 100 years, and Sanatan Dharma has existed for thousands of years, so it was an encroachment. We had announced two days ago that we would vandalise it. Even if someone does something wrong on private property, we cannot accept it,” Sharma said on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Aswal said police personnel were deployed at the mazaar after Saturday’s incident to maintain law and order.
He added that said one FIR was registered in connection with the incident, although a separate complaint was also received for the same matter. “If more complaints are received, they will be included in the investigation. We have not yet received any complaint from the school on whose property the mazaar is located,” he said on Monday.
On Sunday, an FIR against three persons, Hari Om, Shivau, and Shraddha, and several unidentified people was registered under sections 196 (1) (b) (any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities), and 298 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult religion of any class) of the BNS at Mussoorie police station.
Section 196 (1) (b) provides for a maximum punishment of five years upon conviction, while Section 298 is punishable with a maximum term of two years.
Naeem Qureshi, president of the Dehradun-based Muslim Sewa Sangathan, said, “It is a serious crime and an attempt to disturb the communal harmony of the hill town. However, no arrests have been made so far. If the police fail to take strict legal action by Tuesday, we will register our protest either in Mussoorie or outside the office of the senior superintendent of police (SSP),” he said.
In his complaint to the police, a local resident Akram Khan alleged that around 25-30 people entered the shrine carrying hammers and crowbars at 6.45 pm on Saturday. “The group also desecrated religious books kept at the site, and one of them urinated on the wall of the shrine. The act was committed with the intention of spreading religious frenzy,” Khan alleged in the complaint.
A purported video of the incident surfaced on social media, showing people first barging into the site and then vandalising the mazaar’s structure.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the widely-circulated video.