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300-yr-old tazia parts stolen in Gorakhpur
VALUABLE PARTS of a 300-year-old gold and silver tazia were stolen from Imambara Mian Bazaar, under Kotwali police station, here. As the news spread like wildfire in the city, thousands of devotees rushed to the Imambara. The news also increased the worries of district police officials. Senior superintendent of police Dipesh Juneja, along with other police officials, rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Police personnel called experts to take fingerprint samples. However, they failed to find any clue.
VALUABLE PARTS of a 300-year-old gold and silver tazia were stolen from Imambara Mian Bazaar, under Kotwali police station, here.
As the news spread like wildfire in the city, thousands of devotees rushed to the Imambara.
The news also increased the worries of district police officials. Senior superintendent of police Dipesh Juneja, along with other police officials, rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.
Police personnel called experts to take fingerprint samples. However, they failed to find any clue.
The incident led to anger among people and they raised slogans, demanding immediate arrest of the thieves.
Police officials promised to work out the case within two days. However, people were not satisfied. Sajjada Nashin and Mutwalli of Imambara Mian Sahib Syed Farrukh Adnan Ali Shah appealed to people to maintain calm and expressed shock over the incident. The tazia had been gifted to Muslim saint Raushan Ali Shah by Nawab of Awadh Asif-ul-Daula in the 17th century. It had been kept in the Imambara since then to highlight the teachings of Imam Husain and Islam.
During Moharram every year, devotees thronged the Imambara to have a glimpse of the tazia and offer prayers. According to sources, the incharge of Mersiakhana Tayyab Hasan visited the portion of the Imambara daily to keep it clean and sweep the area.
The Mersiakhana is the portion of the Imambara where tazias and other valuable items used by Raushan Ali Shah are kept. Tayyab Hasan also offered prayers in this portion, which used to be closed the whole year for the common devotees and opened only for ten days at the time of Moharram.
According to reports, Tayyab Hasan entered the portion as usual on Saturday and saw a ladder placed near the Mersiakhana. This made him suspicious. He found locks of five doors open.
He informed Sajjada Nashin Farrukh Adnan Shah and police officials. When Farrukh Shah entered the Mersiakhana, he found that a plate of gold and silver was stolen from the tazia, He said the actual value of the gold and silver was not known, but estimated it was over Rs 10 lakh.
Later, Shah told mediapersons that police officials had assured to work out the case within two days. He said the incident had shaken him.
