Hindu mob vandalises tomb in Fatehpur, claims it's built on temple site

Members of Hindu outfits on Monday (August 11) vandalised a tomb in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, claiming the structure was erected on a temple.

A video from the scene showed a number of people, carrying saffron flags, chanting 'Jai Shree Ram' around the tomb.

The district administration quickly swung into action deploying policemen and provincial armed constabulary personnel across the area and set up barricades around the controversial site to ensure peace.

Tensions run high

Tensions ran high in Fatehpur when members of Hindu organisations, including the Bajrang Dal, assembled near the tomb in Abu Nagar with sticks, saying the structure is a temple and sought to offer prayers there.

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Dharmendra Singh, Bajrang Dal’s Fatehpur district co-convenor, threatened that they would offer prayers at the site at noon and dared the administration to stop them. He said nobody could snatch anybody’s right to offer prayers in the Hindu religion, said reports.

“It is our temple which they are referring to as a tomb,” he said, according to reports. Members of the local Muslim community protested against the act by pelting stones.

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The tomb, officially registered in government records as ‘Maqbara Mangi’, turned into a flashpoint after members of the Math Mandir Sanrakshan Sangharsh Samiti and several Hindu groups, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, claimed that it was a thousand-year-old temple dedicated to Thakurji and Lord Shiva.

The controversy began after Mukhlal Pal, BJP district president alleged that the tomb was originally a temple that had been converted over time. This was followed by similar claims being made by Virendra Pandey, state vice president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

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After these claims were made, Hindu groups entered the tomb premises and vandalised the area outside the mausoleum. They were also planning to perform a pooja at the spot which may have escalated the situation further.

Distorting history

Mo Naseem, national secretary of the National Ulama Council, protested and called the act of attacking the tomb as an attempt to distort history and disturb communal harmony. He also warned that the council would launch protests if the district administration failed to stop the programme.

Administrative officials have maintained that the land is registered as a national tomb, and they are keeping a close watch on the situation.