The BJP has decided to move court for the possession of a tomb in Fatehpur that Hindutva groups had stormed and vandalised last week over the claim that it was a temple.
The development comes at a time a report on the tomb’s history and the August 11 violence is awaiting the attention of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
“We are discussing the matter with our legal cell and will move the count soon. We have collected some documents to substantiate our claim,” BJP district president Mukhlal Pal told reporters on Monday.
Pal had led a mob that had desecrated Maqbara-e-Sangi, a mausoleum in Abunagar Redaiya, in police presence and put up an RSS flag on it. The police had registered a case against half a dozen identified and 150 unidentified people, but none have been arrested so far.
Pal claimed the structure was a Krishna temple and Hindus used to pray there till 2012, before it was forcibly taken over by Muslims. However, locals can’t recall the existence of any temple in the last 70 years. Employees of the tomb claim that it can be traced back to more than 200 years.
“A report about the history of the maqbara and the August 11 violence was prepared by a committee headed by divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant. It has been submitted to the chief minister for review. We are awaiting instructions. We have been asked to protect the structure, and we are doing so,” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity.
He said the report held the local intelligence unit of the police responsible for the vandalisation of the maqbara as it failed to send a timely warning against the mob approaching the tomb.
“The report mentions plots 753 and 1159, which are registered in the name of the maqbara and a temple of Thakurji. They are adjacent to each other. So there is no confusion about the two properties,” he added.
The maqbara is registered with the state government’s Sunni Waqf Board.
Pal had held a meeting near the tomb on August 11 before leading the mob to it. His plan to organise a puja at the tomb on Krishna Janmastami (August 16) was thwarted by the administration, which had imposed a prohibitory order on public gatherings.
While the vandals are still at large, the police have initiated a crackdown on social media users who have condemned the August 11 incident.
“We have registered cases against three X accounts for vitiating the atmosphere on social media,” inspector-in-charge Tarkeshwar Singh said.
According to the revenue department, 10.18 bighas of the maqbara’s land were in the possession of Ram Naresh Singh till December 30, 2010, when a local court ruled that it belonged to the tomb committee. The plot was registered in the name of the committee in 2012.
Abdul Aziz, the caretaker of the property, said: “We don’t know about the adjoining land, but this land and property belong to the Sunni Waqf Board. Ask any elderly resident and they will tell you that the maqbara has been here for several decades.”