On 24th January, members of Hindu Raksha Dal allegedly vandalised a mazar allegedly linked to Sufi saint Bulle Shah, believed to be over 100 years old, in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. The original mazar of Bulle Shah is located in Pakistan. The incident led to an FIR being filed against three members of the organisation based on a complaint by a local resident named Akram Khan.
Notably, the mazar was located on private land belonging to Wynberg-Allen School in the Bala Hissar area. However, no complaint was filed by the school administration in the matter. Additional security personnel have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
Incident at school property
According to the police, the vandalised structure was called ‘Baba Bulle Shah Mazar’. The land on which the mazar was located belonged to a reputed co educational boarding school, Wynberg Allen School. In a statement, Senior Sub Inspector Satinder Bhati said that an FIR has been registered and further action is underway.
Complaint alleges deliberate desecration
OpIndia accessed the FIR filed in the matter. A local resident, Akram Khan, filed the complaint at Mussoorie police station. He claimed in his complaint that at around 6:45 pm, 25 to 30 people entered the mazar carrying hammers and crowbars. He claimed that religious books kept at the site were desecrated. He further accused one of them of urinating on the wall of the mazar. He claimed that the act was carried out with the intention of creating religious tension.
The FIR has been registered against three named individuals, Hari Om, Shivau and Shraddha, under Sections 196(1)(b) and 298 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A purported video of the incident has surfaced on social media showing a group entering and vandalising the structure. However, the police said the authenticity of the video is yet to be verified.
Administration and political reactions
Mussoorie sub divisional magistrate Rahul Anand said the mazar stood on school property and that no complaint had been received from the school authorities regarding trespass or damage. He added that adequate police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.
Hindu Raksha Dal claimed responsibility
A statement has been issued by the state chief of Hindu Raksha Dal, Lalit Sharma, in the matter, where he claimed responsibility for destroying the mazar. He admitted that members of his group were behind the incident. In the video, he stated that the mazar was an encroachment and that the intent was publicly announced days before the incident.
Baba Bulle Shah, after whom the mazar was named, was a Punjabi Sufi poet and philosopher. His original mazar is located in Pakistan. It is unclear whether the mazar in Mussoorie was linked to him in any way or whether it referred to some other Bulle Shah altogether.
