By Aliza Noor
Around 1,000 members of Hindutva organisations including Bajrang Dal, stormed the tomb of Nawab Abdus Samad Khan in Abu Nagar locality under Kotwali police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur on 11 August. The mob was incited and led by BJP district president Mukhlal Pal who alleged that the tomb is an old “Thakur ji ka mandir.”
Communal tensions escalated quickly on Monday when the right-wing mob charged with lathis, was seen vandalising the tomb, planting saffron flags on the tomb and the premises and creating a ruckus on the site. All in the presence of the local police on the spot.
Prior the incident, Pal alleged that the tomb is an old temple as there is reportedly a “trishul” in its premises.
They have tried to damage our old Thakur temple. We want to get the temple back to its original state and we will. An FIR should be filed against those who disfigured it. I appeal to all the people here that in a large group we will go to there and offer prayers at the site clean the place. If anything goes wrong, the police would be responsible.
Mukhlal Pal, BJP District President
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.
