New Delhi: A 50-year-old Muslim shrine was vandalised and painted saffron by suspected right-wing goons in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district.
The incident took place in the wee hours of Saturday at the shrine, located 40 km from Narmadapuram district headquarters on the state highway.
The incident came to light around 6 am when a few local youths spotted the Muslim shrine coated with saffron paint and found that its door had been broken open, Indian Express reported.
Even previously the shrine was targetted. Irked over the incident, Muslims blocked the state highway-22 and demanded the arrest of the accused.
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They lifted the blockade only after police and the district administration reached the spot and assured action, The Indian Express reported.
“After reaching, we realized that the wooden doors of the shrine were broken open and dumped in Maru river. Not only the minaret, but also the tomb and the entrance were coated in saffron paint. Furthermore, the hand pump inside the shrine compound was also uprooted,” the shrine’s caretaker told Indian Express.
An FIR was registered under Section 295 (A) of the IPC — for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
According to reports, repainting of the shrine is undertaken.