E-Paper
4 Hindu men nabbed for writing ‘Í Love Mohammad’ on temples in Aligarh to stir tension
A spelling mistake in the slogan, CCTV footages, discussion with villagers and record of ongoing cases in courts helped nab culprits who had ill designs to provoke communal sentiments: SSP
AGRA The UP Police on Thursday arrested four Hindu men for allegedly writing ‘Í Love Mohammad’ on the walls of four temples in the Lodha area of Aligarh district to create communal tension in the city. Their aim was to frame members of the Muslim community with whom they had a property dispute, revealed a police probe.
“A spelling mistake in the slogan, CCTV footages, discussion with villagers, call detail records and record of ongoing cases in courts helped nab the culprits who had ill designs to provoke communal sentiments to settle their vested interests and get cases resolved in their favour,” said SSP (Aligarh) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun addressing a press conference in Aligarh.
A probe revealed that the slogans written in English had incorrect spelling of ‘Mohammad’, and at one place, it was written ‘Mamud’.
The accused belonged to the Hindu community and conspired defame people of Muslim community. One of the accused was absconding and a search was underway to nab him, said police.
Tensions prevailed in Aligarh on Saturday after ‘I love Mohammad’ graffiti was found on the walls of temples in Bhagwanpur and Bulaqigarh villages within limits of Lodha police station, prompting heavy police deployment. Senior police officials rushed to the spot with forensic experts and CCTV footage from the surrounding areas was examined to identify the culprits, said police.
The slogans were erased and a case was initially registered against unidentified persons on a complaint by the Karni Sena under sections 299 (act intended to outrage religious feelings) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS, said Jadaun.
With more facts emerging, the four accused were booked under Sections 192 (provocation to cause riots), 197 (offence at religious place), 229 (false evidence), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 7 Criminal Law Amendment Act. They included Jeeshant Kumar from Bulakgarhi village, Aakash, Dilip Kumar and Abhishek Saraswat - all from Bhagwanpur village.
“We are thankful to the villagers as they remained calm and expressed trust in the police and allowed time for fair investigation, resulting in the arrest four accused while one of the co-accused Rahul is on the run. We are also thankful to the residents of Aligarh for their trust in police and keeping calm,” said SSP (Aligarh).
Police said the matter was linked to two property disputes. “In the first case, Rahul had a long-standing property dispute with Gul Mohammad’s family, which had also led to a clash last year,” they said.
Another case was registered on September 9, 2025, after a clash between Mustakeem and one of the arrested accused Jeeshant. In this, both were injured and cross cases were registered and charge sheet filed.
Rahul, whose father had a dispute with Gul Mohammad, joined hands with Jeeshant who resides near the temples where slogans were found written, informed Jadaun.
SP (city) Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, involved in investigation, informed that police also recovered the spray can used by the accused to write slogans at the temples.
