Sambhal: After the ‘discovery’ of a ‘centuries-old’ temple in the Muslim-dominated Khaggu Sarai in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, the administration is allegedly pressurising the family residing next to the temple to vacate their house.
According to the family members, the district administration wants to demolish their house because it marks an obstacle for Hindu devotees who want to perform parikrama (circumambulation) of the temple. While the temple has lanes on three sides, its rear wall borders the house.
A photo of Mohammed Mateen. Photo: Special arrangement
The frightened family immediately demolished a part of their house, but the administration insisted on razing the entire structure. Subsequently, the police arrested the family’s eldest male member Mohammad Mateen on January 16, accusing him of disturbing peace in the area. He was released on bail on January 24. Mateen, nearly 40, works as a driver.
The family’s ordeal
Mateen’s wife Uzama Parveen told The Wire Hindi, “After the ‘discovery’ of the temple, the district administration started pressurising us.” “First, they told us to demolish the balcony of our house because, they said, it was part of the ‘temple’. Out of fear of the administration, we tore down the balcony, but the matter didn’t end there.”
“Soon after, Sambhal sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Vandana Mishra asked us to demolish the wall of our house adjoining the temple. When we refused to do so, she threatened us, saying that we would have to demolish our entire house,” she adds.
Parveen underlined that when the family refused to demolish the house, the police called her husband to the police station and arrested him.
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“When we refused to demolish our house, the police called my husband to the police station on Thursday [January 16] and arrested him. The police claim he was arrested for disturbing the peace in the area and obstructing Hindu devotees from offering prayers at the temple,” says Parveen.
“The police arrested my husband to intimidate us, so that we demolish our house,” she adds.
Nakhasa police station issued a challan against Mateen under Sections 126, 135, and 170 of the BNSS. SDM Mishra confirmed his arrest to The Wire Hindi, stating that “the accused used to stop devotees from entering the temple and harass them.”
Parveen said that her husband purchased the property in 2002 with his own earnings and has the relevant documents. Mateen even took a bank loan by mortgaging the house.
“We do not have any other property apart from this house. We are poor people. My husband is a driver. If we demolish the house, where will we go?” she says, tears welled up in her eyes.
The couple have three children, the eldest is 16 and the youngest is ten years old.
The SHO of Nakhasa police station also confirmed Mateen’s arrest. When asked about the administration allegedly threatening the family to demolish their house, he said, “I have no information about this.”
The Wire Hindi reached out to Mishra regarding the family’s allegations – sent her messages, and also emailed questions to district officials. They are yet to respond. The copy will be updated as soon as we get a reply.
A temple ‘reopened’
On December 13 last year, the Sambhal administration claimed to have ‘discovered’ a ‘centuries-old’ Shri Kartik Mahadev Temple ( Bhasma Shankar Temple), which had been ‘closed for years,’ during an anti-encroachment drive in Khaggu Sarai. Subsequently, the temple was ‘reopened’ for devotees.
The image of the ‘discovered’ temple in Sambhal. Photo: Special arrangement
According to the district administration, the Hindu population left the area after the 1978 riots, and the temple had been closed since then.
Locals said that the temple existed for years. As Hindu residents moved out of the area by 2005, the temple was opened for prayers only on special occasions.
Following the temple’s ‘discovery,’ Hindu organisations managed to attract a large crowd to the site. Though the number gradually decreased after a few days, a priest has been appointed to look after the temple and perform daily pooja.
Local residents debunk the ‘discovery’ theory
Residents of Sambhal are baffled by the claim about the temple’s ‘discovery’. “Had the temple vanished somewhere, which they have now suddenly ‘discovered’? The temple has been there for years. After Hindu residents gradually migrated from the locality, there was no one left to look after the temple or worship there. Hence, it remained locked,” an advocated who prefers to remain anonymous told The Wire Hindi.
The keys of the temple, says Parveen, are with a local Hindu family, which pays a visit on special occasions to clean the temple. “We have never had any problem with the temple,” Parveen adds.
The crisis marks yet another episode of the violence Sambhal has seen in the last few months.
Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal. Photo: Shruti Sharma/The Wire
On November 19, a petition was filed for the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. On the same day, the court granted permission for the survey, which was conducted during the night. Since then, Sambhal has been in a state of unrest.
During the second survey on November 24, violence broke out, resulting in the deaths of five persons, and many arrests. A police post, ‘Satyavrat’ police chowki, is being rapidly constructed near the Jama Masjid.
Appeal to the Judicial Inquiry Commission
On January 21, Parveen wrote a letter to the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which has been set up to investigate the violence in Sambhal, requesting a probe into her case.
She wrote that Mateen had bought the dilapidated house from a person named Ramsevak on December 5, 2000. The couple later rebuilt the house, and they were living there peacefully with their children.
A copy of the letter written by Uzama Parveen to the Judicial Inquiry Commission. Photo: Special arrangement
Parveen, further, noted that Mateen pays regular house tax and has a loan on the house from the Punjab National Bank. The papers for the house are mortgaged at the Sambhal branch of the bank.
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In her letter, Parveen also underlined how the local administration has been harassing her family adding that the SDM visited them on January 7 and ordered them to demolish their house within two days, threatening to “use a bulldozer if we don’t comply”. Further, she mentioned that her husband’s arrest was intended to create pressure, and officials from the administration frequently visit her house to intimidate her.
While Mateen has been granted bail, his family continues to live in fear of losing their home.
The ‘discovery’ of the temple, however, has lent an unsuspecting benefit to the local residents. The area near the temple had no electricity poles, as residents drew electric cables from distant poles. Soon after the ‘discovery,’ new electric poles have come up in the area.