Tension grips Karnataka’s Bidar after mob enters Gawan madrasa, performs puja

Highlights

• Tension gripped Bidar in Karnataka after a mob from a Dasara procession barged into the premises of Mahmud Gawan madrasa and performed puja in the early hours of Thursday.

• After the video clip of the incident went viral, members of the Muslim community staged a protest in front of Town police station demanding action against those involved in barging into the heritage building in the presence of police and performing puja with an intention to disturb communal harmony in the city.

• Additional SP Mahesh Meghannavar and DySP Satish said that nine people have been booked for trespassing on the ASI heritage structure based on the complaint lodged by Syed Mubhashir Ali at Market police station. The senior police officers assured the agitators of stringent action against the perpetrators.

• The police have heightened security in the area to avert any untoward incident.

• Meanwhile, ASI officer Aniruddha Desai said that the devotees of Bhavani Mandir perform a symbolic puja every year on a platform near Gawan Madrasa, which once housed a peepal tree. The devotees during Dasara procession every year have this tradition of breaking a coconut. There is no damage to the structure.