Tension erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district on Monday as members of Hindu right-wing groups, armed with lathis, stormed a “disputed” structure and vandalised the tomb of Nawab Abdul Samad Khan, claiming it was built over a temple.
The controversy revolves around a tomb, officially recorded under Khasra number 753 as Maqbara Mangi (National Property), which members of the Math Mandir Sanrakshan Sangharsh Samiti, along with other Hindu groups including the BJP, claim is a temple dedicated to Thakurji and Lord Shiva, allegedly over a thousand years old.
The building is recorded as the tomb of Nawab Abdus Samad Khan Bahadur, Faujdar of Pailani under Emperor Aurangzeb.
The controversy erupted after BJP district president Mukhlal Pal, leading the movement, alleged that the tomb of Nawab Abdus Samad in Sadar tehsil is actually a thousand-year-old temple of Thakurji and Lord Shiva, citing a lotus flower and trident inside as evidence.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
