Fatehpur Mausoleum Case: No Arrest Over Vandalism Yet; Locals Barred From Talking to Outsiders
On Tuesday (August 13), police booked more than 150 people, 10 of them named, for damaging public property and disturbing the peace, according to news agency PTI.
The 10 named in the FIR are 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), Ashish Trivedi and Pappu Chauhan (Samajwadi Party).
Meanwhile, locals have been barred from talking to outsiders and media entry has been banned. Police in plainclothes are roaming areas near the mausoleum, interacting with locals and monitoring the activities.
On August 11, a violent confrontation erupted in Fatehpur, after a mob from various Hindutva bodies stormed a centuries-old mausoleum in Abu Nagar, hoisted saffron flags on it, performed Hindu rituals inside and vandalised graves in the presence of security forces.
It was followed by stone-pelting and clashes with members of the Muslim community, triggering a political outcry and raising questions about law enforcement in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh.
According to the PTI report, while the vandals are yet to be arrested, police have arrested the Congress city president, Arif alias Gudda, and his several supporters, for holding a protest demanding the arrest of the vandals. Meanwhile, the party's district president, Mahesh Dwivedi was placed under house arrest when a party delegation comprising two former MLAs planned to visit the site.
Dwivedi called the police action 'dictatorial' and accused the administration of acting as a 'silent spectator' while the vandalism had happened. Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Uttam Patel said he had sent a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, demanding an investigation by an independent agency into the matter.
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