A shrine in Neemuch district in Madhya Pradesh was vandalised and at least three people including the caretaker were beaten and looted by a group of around 20 Hindutva men. The attack went on for four hours, from 11 pm till 3 am on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
The perpetrators left a pamphlet that threatens to kill nearby Muslims if the shrine will be rebuilt. It was also claimed that the dargah was involved in converting Hindus to Islam.
“If a Hindu goes to the shrine, we will target Muslims,” reads the pamphlet.
The caretaker of the Bhedabhan shrine, Noor Shah, has been quoted as saying that the Hindutva men tried to blow up the shrine with explosives.
Shah said 20-25 men had attacked in the middle of the night, and tied his hands and legs up, along with those of a couple from Udaipur in Rajasthan who were visiting the shrine. All three were then thrashed.
Police have registered a complaint against unidentified people under IPC Sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult religion), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 147 (rioting),148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons) and 149 (unlawful assembly with criminal intent).
Neemuch SP Suraj Kumar Verma was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that a Bomb Disposal Squad was called but so far it has not been ascertained if explosives were used. ”We have also sent a sample for forensics,” he added.