PACHWAD/NEW DELHI, 13 September 2004 — Police yesterday arrested scores of right-wing Hindu activists who threatened to demolish a 17th century tomb in the western state of Maharashtra.
Cadres of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) heading to the tomb at Mahabaleshwar, 250 km from Bombay, were detained outside the heavily-barricaded site of the tomb, the witnesses said.
They said some 890 VHP activists were arrested when they tried to march on the tomb of the Mogul general, Afzal Khan, located at the foot of a ruined fort of Hindu warrior king Shivaji.
At least 10 of the activists belonging to the VHP and seven police officers were injured in the scuffle, said C.G. Kumbhar, the superintendent of police.
He said police prevented the mob from reaching the Pratapgarh fort, 60 km southeast of Pachwad, where Afzal Khan was buried after he was killed by Shivaji, a 17th-century Indian king who established a small kingdom in the region.
Police used wooden sticks to beat back hundreds of protesters near the fort in Pachwad, a town 250 km south of Bombay, Kumbhar said.
He said protesters were arrested on charges of rioting and violating a ban on the assembly of more than five people.
“The speeches made by protesters were provocative and we had to take action,” said Kumbhar. “They threw stones at policemen, injuring seven of them.”
The VHP activists damaged nearly 25 vehicles on a nearby highway, he said.
The VHP, an affiliate of the main right-wing opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is one of the Hindu hard-line groups accused of demolishing a 17th century mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya in 1992.
The state police have been wary of a repeat of deadly riots a dozen years ago in northern India when Hindu fanatics had razed Babri Masjid said to have been erected on the birthplace of the Hindu warrior-deity Ram.
The mosque’s destruction sparked religious riots in which some 3,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed.
A tight security cordon had been thrown around the tomb following threats from the VHP to raze the structure.
On Saturday, VHP Secretary Venkatesh Apte had called for the tomb’s destruction, saying the group will intensify their agitation if prevented by the police.
“If we’re stopped, we shall demonstrate. Afzal Khan was an invader, he demolished our temples, he cannot be called a saint,” he said.
Afzal Khan was killed by Shivaji in 1625 when he was dispatched by Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb on a mission to win over the Hindu warrior. The general was buried where he died.
A number of Muslims also regard the general’s tomb as historically important. Prayers were allowed there until the site was cordoned off last year due to the dispute.
The tension over the tomb comes ahead of assembly elections in October in Maharashtra where the BJP, a sister organization of the VHP and Shiv Sena, hope to stage a return to power.
The BJP suffered a surprise defeat in national elections last May.
