Graves were demolished and idols were installed in the 600-year-old shrine of Imam Shah Baba by a Hindutva mob in Pirana village, Ahmedabad district, Gujarat late Tuesday night.
Around 35 people have been arrested after the unrest broke out when a group of miscreants demolished graves and installed idols in the shrine.
The confrontation led to a heated argument, and stone pelting took place, injuring four people.
“There has been a long-standing dispute over the shrine,” Ahmedabad SP Omprakash Jat told the media. The Imam Shah Baba Roza trust has members from Hindu and Muslim communities. After learning that the graves were being demolished, members of both communities congregated at the shrine early on Wednesday.
According to reports, the structures built upon the graves were razed by the Hindu faction of trustees. Stone pelting and clashes intensified as the police arrived at the scene.
Saffron-colored flags were raised on the dargah while chairs were broken and the floor was covered in shattered glass.
“The incident resulted in injuries to four or five people, including a police inspector. Nobody was severely injured, according to police sources who spoke with the Times of India.
The rural police of Ahmedabad dispatched a team from the LCB (local crime branch) and SOG (special operations group) to patrol the area.
“We objected to the razing of the graves and demanded restoration. The police officers assured us they will make the trustees rebuild the graves. They have been promising that since early morning, but there has been no action yet,” residents of Pirana and a descendant of the saint, Azhar Saiyed, said.
In the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition, slogans like “Ayodhya toh Jhanki hai, Kashi-Mathura baki hai” were chanted with impunity by Hindutva group who hoped to ‘reclaim’ places of worship of the minority community.
The Sunni Awami Forum submitted that, under the guise of renovation permission, there have been attempts since early 2022 by the Dargah Trust and a few miscreants to convert the Muslim shrine into a temple.
The forum has also alleged that the “illegal and unlawful actions” of installing idols on the Dargah premises are being carried out by the Dargah trust “in collusion with” state authorities.
