Saffron activists recite 'Shiv Chalisa' inside Taj Mahal on Mahashivratri

Some Saffron activists once again managed to dodge the security personnel and recited 'Shiv Chalisa' (hymns praising Lord Shiva) inside the Taj Mahal complex in Agra on 'Mahashivratri' on Thursday.

According to the police sources, three members, including the state president of Hindu Mahasabha, Meena Diwakar, were taken into custody in this connection.

Police said that Diwakar, who entered the Taj Mahal on Thursday morning with two other members of the outfit, occupied what is known as 'Diana Bench' (a bench inside the Taj Mahal premises, where Princess Diana once sat during her visit to the monument in 1992...since then it has become popular as Diana Bench) and started reciting the 'Shiv Chalisa'.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawans reached the spot after getting the information and took Diwakar and the other activists in custody. They were later handed over to the police, sources said.

Scores of saffron activists laid siege to the police station, where the three were kept, demanding their release.

Diwakar had earlier also been arrested after she recited hymns inside the Taj Mahal premises. She had also tried to enter the monument with 'kanwar' (earthen pitcher carrying Ganga waters to be offered to Lord Shiva).

In January this year, four members of the outfit Hindu Jagaran Manch, including its district president Gauravn Thakur, were arrested by the police after they waved saffron flags inside the monument.

The saffron outfits consider Taj Mahal to be a Shiva temple, which was 'demolished' by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and converted into a mosque. They call it 'Tejo Mahal'.