Violent clashes broke out in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi town on Thursday during a rally led by Hindutva groups to demand the demolition of a 55-year-old mosque near the Kashi Vishwanath temple, The Times of India reported.
Muslim-owned shops were vandalised and four police officers were injured in the scuffle, the newspaper reported. The police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the protestors.
The protest, organised under the banner of the Sanyukta Sanatan Dharma Rakshak Sangh, drew participants from the Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva groups who claimed that the mosque was “illegally built”.
The district administration, however, recently confirmed the mosque’s legality, noting its registration in 1969, according to The Times of India.
Superintendent of Police Amit Srivastava said that the crowd grew agitated as they approached police barricades. The demonstrators attempted to veer off the protest march’s designated route towards the mosque, prompting officers to intervene.
“When they were blocked, protestors began throwing stones at police, injuring four officers,” the newspaper quoted Srivastava as saying.
The police were reviewing security camera footage to identify those involved, he added.
Darshan Bharti, head of the Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyaan, claimed that around 30 demonstrators were injured, according to The Hindu.
The escalation came after months of organised protests against the mosque, with Hindutva activists staging sit-ins and submitting repeated requests to district officials demanding its demolition.
In early September, protestors held a smaller rally to air their grievances, alleging that the mosque occupied disputed land.
Although the district administration had recently upheld the mosque’s legitimacy, Hindutva groups dismissed the findings, claiming the administration only accounted for a portion of the property records.
“We have documents to show that this mosque is illegal, and we’ll present them publicly,” the Sanyukta Sanatan Dharma Rakshak Sangh said in a statement.
On Thursday, the rally gathered momentum in Uttarkashi town’s main market, with participants shouting anti-Muslim slogans, The Times of India reported.
Naeem Qureshi, president of the Dehradun-based Muslim Sewa Sangathan, condemned the violence and criticised the administration’s response. “This rally shows complete disregard for law and order,” The Times of India quoted him as saying.
“…the violence is part of an agenda to create tension and push for a Hindu Rashtra,” he said, calling for urgent action to ensure protection of the state’s religious minorities.
Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht, at a press conference earlier this month, said that the mosque had all the necessary documents and was also registered by the Waqf Board, according to The Hindu.
Srivastava was quoted by The Indian Express on Friday as saying: “Some right-wing organisations had given a memorandum to the administration claiming that it is an illegal mosque. As per our records, it is built on registered land and it is not illegal. It is registered in the names of four people. The administration has conveyed the same to these organisations.”
Also read: How Uttarakhand is selectively targeting Muslim shrines
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