Shrine in MP’s Neemuch attacked with explosives, priest and 2 others thrashed
The miscreants left a letter and allegedly blamed the priest and a few others of converting locals into Islam. In the letter, the accused threatened that if anyone reconstructed the shrine, they would face dire consequences.
More than 20 masked men allegedly damaged a shrine by using explosives and thrashed a priest and two locals in Neemuch on suspicions of religious conversion on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, police said.
The miscreants also left a letter and blamed the priest and a few others of converting locals into Islam, said Suraj Kumar Verma, superintendent of police, Neemuch.
In the letter, the accused threatened that if anyone reconstructed the shrine, they would face dire consequences.
Priest Noor Baba, 59, and a resident of Udaipur, Abdul Rajjak, 52, and his wife Aisha informed the police about the incident. They were later taken to hospital by the police. Noor Baba and Aisha sustained minor injuries but Rajjak’s condition is believed to be serious.
A case has been registered against 24 unidentified men under Section 146 (rioting) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with an intent to insult the religion of any class) of IPC.
“Forensic experts and a bomb disposal squad inspected the area to gather information about the explosives,” SP Verma said.
Rajjak’s wife Aisha said, “More than 20 people carrying swords and canes entered the shrine and started beating the priest. Rajjak tried to save him so they attacked him too. I also suffered injuries while attempting to save my husband.”
“In the letter, the accused wrote that the shrine was being used to convert Hindus into Islam for the past so many years. They also threatened us with dire consequences, if we reconstruct the shrine,” Noor Baba said.