New Delhi: Senior National Conference leader and the member of Lok Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar constituency Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on September 7 called on the authorities to release suspects who have been detained in connection with the vandalism at the Hazratbal shrine last week.

Terming the detention of “nearly 30 persons” an act of “operational retribution”, Ruhullah said that the incident in which the national emblem engraved on a plaque inside the Hazratbal shrine was defaced by a mob of agitated men and women on September 5 happened “due to administrative insensitivity, if not deliberate provocation”.

The statement came out after Imran Nabi, a ruling party spokesperson, pointed out on X that the Wakf Board headed by senior BJP leader Darakshan Andrabi had not depicted the national emblem on the plaque of a developmental project at another shrine in Khimber village of Srinagar which was inaugurated on September 4, a day before the controversy erupted at Hazratbal shrine.

Ruhullah, who is member of parliamentary committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, said that the issue of the defacement of the national emblem at the Hazratbal shrine was "being distorted as a misplaced test of nationalism” to vilify the people of Kashmir.

“Islam – while respectful of the sentiments and rights of others, categorically prohibits the depiction of living beings inside mosques and other places of worship. This prohibition is clear and unequivocal, and cannot be overlooked. Those responsible for this, must be held accountable under the same laws which are now being invoked, to detain innocent people,” Ruhullah said in a statement on September 7.

Police

The J&K Police have not yet released any official statement about the incident which has brought the turf war in Kashmir between the National Conference party and the Bhartiya Janta Party over the control of the historic shrine, the traditional power centre of the former, out into the open.

An FIR has been registered (number 76 of 2025) in connection with the incident at Nigeen police station in Srinagar reportedly under section 300 (disturbing lawful religious assembly), section 352 (provoking breach of peace), section 191(2) (rioting), section 324 (4) (mischief causing property damage), section 196 (promoting enmity between groups and disturbing harmony) and section 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita along with provisions of the Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act for defacing the national emblem.

The use of the national emblem on the plaque inside the Hazratbal shrine has drawn mixed responses with the regional parties demanding that the Waqf chief should apologise for “hurting the religious sentiments” of Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir.

Some locals of the Hazratbal area told The Wire that even the policemen deployed for the shrine’s security remove their official belts, which bears the national emblem, before entering the prayer hall as a “mark of respect” towards the Moi-e-Muqqadas, believed to be a hair from the beard of Islam’s most revered Prophet Mohammad which is housed in the shrine.

The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), the largest conglomerate of Islamic groups in Jammu and Kashmir headed by moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq earlier also said that “no emblems, figures or symbols are permitted in mosques or shrines”.

'Guidance'

After the controversy broke out on Friday, Andrabi threatened to go on a hunger strike if action was not taken against those involved in the incident, terming them as “terrorists".

The saffron party leaders in J&K have also demanded that the suspects should be booked under anti-terrorism laws, prompting outrage in the valley where the regional political parties have demanded action against the Waqf officials for allegedly committing blasphemy.

Speaking with a TV channel, Andrabi said that the renovation project at the Hazratbal shrine was being carried out under the “guidance” of the prime minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.

She said that the ruling party was not happy that the renovation was carried out by the BJP at the Muslim shrine after a gap of 42 years. “Hazratbal shrine has become the most beautiful shrine in South Asia,” she claimed without citing any survey, adding that the work had impressed Islamic scholars, preachers and community elders.

“A political party couldn’t digest the good work (at the shrine) by a BJP chairperson (of the Waqf Board) which was carried out under the guidance of the prime minister and the home minister,” she said.

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