E-Paper
Uttarakhand: Century-old Muslim shrine vandalised in Mussoorie, no arrests yet
Members of a Hindu group allegedly demolished a 100-year-old Baba Bulle Shah mazaar (Muslim shrine), built on private land in Bala Hisar area of Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie
Dehradun: Members of a Hindu group allegedly demolished a 100-year-old Baba Bulle Shah mazaar, a Muslim shrine built on private land, in Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie on Saturday evening after barging into the site, raising communal slogans and vandalising structures in the Bala Hisar area..
Senior sub-inspector (SSI) of the Mussoorie police station Satinder Bhati said, “The mazaar was located on the private property of Wynberg-Allen School in the Bala Hissar area. We have registered the FIR and are taking further action in the matter. The accused belong to a Hindutva group.”
No one has been arrested so far. The police have registered a first information report (FIR) against three known persons — Hari Om, Shivau, and Shraddha — and other unidentified individuals under Sections 196(1)(b) (any act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb public tranquillity) and 298 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Mussoorie police station on Sunday.
A video of the incident was reportedly shared on social media, in which people can be seen first barging into the site and then vandalising the structure of the mazaar. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Akram Khan, a resident of Mussoorie, said that on Saturday evening around 6.45 pm, Deepak, whose mother is a sevadar at the mazaar, informed local area councillor Naresh Pratap over the phone that around 25–30 people had entered the shrine carrying hammers and crowbars.
President of the Syed Baba Bulle Shah Committee, Rajat Aggarwal, which manages the affairs of the mazaar, said the over 100-year-old shrine was located on private land and not on government or forest land. “People from all communities in and around Mussoorie had faith in the shrine, and some individuals had recently threatened to damage it. The act was carried out with a well-planned intent to incite hatred and animosity among communities in a harmonious city like Mussoorie,” he said.
He further alleged that the accused urinated at the shrine site and took away cash kept in the donation box.
Mussoorie sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Rahul Anand did not respond to HT calls.
