A mob, unruly and potentially threatening, participating in a procession for Dussehra reportedly broke into a heritage madrasa in Bidar district of Karnataka. Shouting aggressive slogans, they and even performed a puja in a corner of the building reported NDTV.
Though a police case has been registered against nine people, no arrests have been made yet. Minority organisations have stated they will protest if no arrest is made by tomorrow.
Built in the 1460s, the Mahmud Gawan Madrasa in Bidar is a protected monument under the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The heritage structure is also under the list of monuments of national importance.
Local police told the media that the mob broke the lock of the madrasa on Wednesday evening.
Slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and “Hindu Dharam Jai” slogans were shouted by members of the mob, standing on the stairs of the madrassa, before moving to a corner to perform a puja. Videos from the spot that have been circulating online. They show a huge crowd standing on the stairs, trying to get inside the building.
An officer of the local police said that though a case has been registered against nine persons, but no one has been arrested yet.
Several Muslim organisations from Bidar have condemned the incident and held protests, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators. They have warned that a massive protest will be held after the weekly Friday prayers if the accused are not arrested by then.
Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, hit out at the state’s ruling BJP over the incident, accusing it of promoting such incidents to “demean Muslims”.
Both in the current term as earlier, the ruling BJP has been accuser of turning parts of the state into a crucible for communal experiments. The allegations started after the row on hijab, and spiked as Hindu groups insisted on banning Muslim traders from temple fairs.
In August 2022, Ganesh Chaturthi was forcibly celebrated at Hubballi’s Idgah ground, also in Karnataka.
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