KANPUR Members of Hindu right-wing outfits allegedly vandalised a mausoleum in Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, demanding permission to offer prayers there and claiming that a temple had previously existed at the site, officials said on Monday, adding that 160 people have been booked in connection with the incident.
Elaborate security arrangements had been put in place in and around the mausoleum in Abunagar area of Fatehpur after BJP district president Mukhlal Pal had warned the district administration that he along with Hindu groups would perform prayers at the site. The announcement came days after the Math Mandir Sangharsh Samiti, a Hindu right-wing group, submitted a memorandum to district magistrate Ravindra Kumar on August 9, claiming the site was originally a Thakurdwara temple and urged the administration to remove “encroachments” and those allegedly attempting to alter its character.
On Monday, a group comprising members of the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal broke through police barricades around 10am and reached the site, police officers aware of the matter said.
A purported video of the incident, which could not be independently verified, showed some people vandalising parts of the structure and hoisting a saffron flag. A police officer said that the main door and grave inside the mausoleum were damaged as well.
{{/usCountry}}A purported video of the incident, which could not be independently verified, showed some people vandalising parts of the structure and hoisting a saffron flag. A police officer said that the main door and grave inside the mausoleum were damaged as well.
{{/usCountry}}The incident sparked slogan-shouting and stone-pelting as members of the other community arrived at the site, an officer said on anonymity, adding that police dispersed both sides using mild force.
Fatehpur SP Anoop Kumar Singh said that a first information report (FIR) was registered against 10 named and 150 unidentified individuals under sections 190 (unlawful assembly), 191(3) (rioting), 301 (mischief causing damage) and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“Through video and drone footage, we are identifying those who entered and damaged the maqbara (tomb),” he said.
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