New Delhi: Unknown people entered a mosque in Hyderabad, allegedly causing damage to its boundary, and performed Hindu rituals there, leading to tensions in the city’s Malkam Cheruvu area late on October 16 and through October 17, reports say.
The Qutb Shahi Mosque in the city is situated opposite to the Katta Maisamma temple on ‘Poramboke’ or common land, according to a report by The News Minute. India Today has further reported that the mosque is 400 years old.
The people who forcibly entered the mosque area were Raidurgam villagers, police told TNM. They sacrificed a goat as part of rituals near the mosque. An idol was also forcibly placed there.
The report noted that the original Katta Maisamma temple was to be razed as part of a project to widen roads. Following protests led by the local Bharatiya Janata Party contractor earlier this year, some land was allotted for the reconstruction of the temple. This land was part of the ‘Poramboke’ or common land which also houses the mosque.
Worshippers of the Katta Maisamma temple, who are mostly Shudra, were angry that the alternative land had not yet been demarcated and handed over for construction. This is what led to the forcible execution of rituals, a police officer told TNM. Some videos shared on social media allege that the mob’s action took place in the presence of police. The Wire
