The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested a leader of Hindutva organisation Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha who was allegedly planning to recite the Hanuman Chalisa at the Shahi Masjid Idgah at Mathura, PTI reported.
The Hindu Mahasabha had called upon residents of Mathura to recite the Hindu prayer at the mosque to mark the 30th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
The organisation’s Agra region in-charge Saurabh Sharma was arrested on Tuesday morning while he was on his way to the mosque, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Martandey Singh said.
Unidentified officials told PTI that seven to eight leaders other leaders of the outfit have also been detained at their homes in different parts of the city.
The Shahi Masjid Idgah is a communally sensitive site as a group of Hindu litigants have filed a petition in a Mathura court seeking to bar Muslims from praying at the mosque. They have claimed that the site is the birthplace of the Hindu deity Krishna.
The Mathura district administration had asked the police to remain on high alert after the Hindu Mahasabha announced its plans to recite the Hanuman Chalisa at the mosque. District Magistrate Pulkit Khare had issued an order on December 1 prohibiting the gathering of five or more persons without permission. The order will remain in force till January 28.
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