Days after saffron activists damage Fatehpur tomb, petition filed in district court says temple stood there

Lucknow: A petition was filed in the civil court in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district claiming ownership over the land on which a tomb was situated and which has emerged as the latest bone of contention between the Hindus and the Muslims.

Saffron outfits had, a few days back, stormed into the premises housing the tomb and ransacked two ‘mazars’ (shrine) triggering communal tension in the Abunagar area in the district.

According to the reports, one Vijay Kumar Singh filed a petition in the civil court contending that the land had been bought by his father in 1970 and that the land records showed that there existed a temple there.

Singh also claimed in the petition that the caretaker of the tomb had, in alleged connivance with some lawyers, got the land transferred in the name of the Tomb in 2012 through an ex parte decree.

He sought quashing of the court order and restoration of the land in his name. The court admitted his petition and fixed August 30 for hearing of the matter.

The tomb has become a bone of contention between the two communities with the Hindus claiming that it was a temple which was demolished during the Muslim rule while the Muslims claim that the tomb was more than 200 year old.

Hundreds of saffron activists had barged into the tomb and damaged two ‘mazars’. They had also performed ‘puja’ there.

District BJP president Mukhlal Pal and former MLA Vikram Singh led the saffron activists. They also recited ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ inside the tomb.