India: Members of a Hindu organisation vandalised tomb of Nawab Abdus Samad in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur on Monday, claiming that the structure was built on a temple. The district administration has deployed heavy police and PAC forces across the area and erected barricades around the disputed site to prevent further unrest.
The controversy centers around the structure located in Abu Nagar, Rediya locality of Sadar tehsil. The tomb, officially registered under Khasra number 753 in government records as Maqbara Mangi (National Property), has become a flashpoint after members of the Math Mandir Sanrakshan Sangharsh Samiti and other Hindu groups, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), declared it to be a temple dedicated to Thakurji and Lord Shiva, allegedly over a thousand years old.
A video from the scene shows a number of people, carrying saffron flags, chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ around the tomb.
The controversy erupted after the district president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mukhlal Pal, who has been at the forefront of the movement, alleged that the tomb of Nawab Abdus Samad, located in the Sadar tehsil area, is not a tomb but a temple that was altered over time. Nawab Abdul Samad Khan Bahadur was the Nawab of Chhatari and Nawab of Talibnagar in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. He belonged to the Lalkhani family of Muslim Rajputs.
Mukhlal Pal claimed it to be a thousand-year-old temple of Thakur ji and Lord Shiva, citing the presence of a lotus flower and a trident within the structure as evidence. Following the claim, members of a Hindu organisation entered the tomb premises and vandalised the area outside the mausoleum. Reports suggest that the group plans to perform a pooja at the site today, escalating the situation further.
The administration continues to maintain that the land is recorded as a national property tomb, and officials are monitoring the situation closely to prevent escalation.
