Lucknow, 12 Aug

(HS): On Tuesday, Bahujan Samaj Party head Mayawati urged for harsh punishment

against anyone who disrupt communal peace, a day after Hindu right-wing groups

caused a commotion at a mausoleum in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district,

claiming it to be a temple site. Following the Monday incident, more than 150

persons were charged with destroying public property and disturbing the peace.

Mayawati stated in a Hindi-language post on X that the government should not

let any group to do any action that might cause communal strife and undermine

mutual brotherhood and harmony. Members of Hindu right-wing groups caused a

commotion at a centuries-old mausoleum in Fatehpur, claiming it was a temple

where they had the right to pray.

The BSP head

stated that the government must take this situation seriously and, if

necessary, take stern measures. Fatehpur Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar

Singh stated, We found several videos showing several people carrying

saffron flags and chanting 'Jai Shree Ram' around the tomb, but no one was seen

carrying firearms.

In the FIR, police have identified Dharmendra Singh (Bajrang Dal), Abhishek

Shukla (BJP), Ajay Singh (District Panchayat Member), Devnath Dhakad (BJP),

Vinay Tiwari (Municipal Councillor), Pushpraj Patel, Rithik Pal (BJP), Prasoon

Tiwari (BJP), and Pappu Chauhan (Samajwadi Party). Deputy Chief Minister

Brajesh Pathak stated that the administration has taken the situation

seriously.

After BJP district

president Mukhlal Pal told the administration that he and Hindu groups would do

prayers at Nawab Abu Samad's centuries-old tomb on August 11, a security cordon

was erected around it. Pal stated that

the centuries-old edifice was a temple including a'shivling'. A video that circulated on social media shows

individuals vandalizing pieces of the edifice and raising a saffron flag. The

Fatehpur SP had also stated that police were looking into how the mob entered

the tomb.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi