‘Unauthorised’ Tipu Sultan memorial demolished in Dhule, security up, say cops

The memorial was constructed by Farouqe Shah, a local legislator affiliated with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party.

An “unauthorised” monument dedicated to Tipu Sultan has been demolished by the civic body in Maharashtra’s Dhule district, police said on Saturday.

The demolished structure in Dhule. (HT PHOTO)

The development comes nearly a week after communal clashes erupted in certain parts of the state over a social media post praising Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan.

The memorial was constructed by Farouqe Shah, a local legislator affiliated with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party.

Confirming the development, Dhule superintendent of police Sanjay Barkund said that the monument was illegally built at the intersection of 100 feet of Vadjai Road in the area.

“We were informed about the illegality of the structure put up on the main road in the city by a local MLA. We appealed to the MLA to remove the structure and told him that it was unauthorised... Since it was built illegally, the MLA (AIMIM) agreed to follow the due course of law...,” he added.

Accordingly, Barkund said, a meeting was conducted between the district collector and officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) and the statue was pulled down.

The district administration and Dhule police removed the statue on Friday amid heavy police deployment in the area.

“The action caused no disturbances in the city,” the SP said.

HT tried to reach out to MLA Shah for a comment on the matter, but couldn’t get a response immediately.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the statue was removed after the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha of Dhule wrote a letter to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the removal of the memorial, citing traffic problems for local residents.