Saffron flags were allegedly waved and 'Shiv Chalisa' (hymns praising Lord Shiva) was recited inside the Taj Mahal complex in Agra on the occasion of 'Dussehra'.
According to reports, at least two activists, including an office-bearer of the Hindu Jagaran Manch, a saffron outfit, managed to gain entry with saffron flags into the high-security monument of love on Sunday.
Later the Manch officer bearer, identified as Gaurav Thakur, waved the saffron flag and recited the 'Shiv Chalisa' while sitting on a bench inside the Taj complex.
Thakur also posted a video showing himself reciting the hymns while sitting on a bench and another person standing behind him carrying a saffron flag.
Thakur said that his organisation considered Taj Mahal to be a Shiva temple, which was 'demolished' by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan and converted into a mosque. ''For us it (Taj) is an ancient Shiva Temple....we have earlier also performed puja inside the complex,'' he claimed.
Reports said that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was in charge of the security of Taj Mahal, had apprehended the saffron outfit's activists when they waved the flags and recited the hymns but let them off later. The security agency said it would check surveillance footage to confirm the reports.
Last year also a saffron leader had tried to perform 'jalabhishek' (offering of the sacred Ganga waters at Shiva temples) inside the Taj complex but was thwarted by the security personnel.
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