Shahjahanpur, 22 Sept: Locals and Hindu organisations protested the relocation of a Hanuman temple, located near the under-construction Delhi-Lucknow National Highway.
According to Virendra Singh, the in-charge of the Tilhar police station, preventative action has been taken against 32 persons, including temple priests and locals. He said that a huge number of policemen were stationed surrounding the shrine.
The administration is moving the temple 80 metres away from its existing location, and work on it began on September 17, after which members of Hindu organisations began protesting, he added. Protesters claim that the temple in Kachiyani Kheda in the Tilhar region has been around for approximately a century. An attempt was made to relocate it around two years ago, but a crane hired for the purpose was damaged, increasing people’s trust in the temple.
Rajesh Awasthi, head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, accused the administration of acting arbitrarily and threatened a riot if the shifting work proceeded. Awasthi claimed that a mosque at the city’s town hall was erected on Hindu property and asked that it be dismantled first, followed by the relocation of the temple in Tilhar. Tilhar SDM Rashi Krishna stated that the Hanuman temple would be relocated when all legal processes are completed. “We’re relocating the temple with complete respect,” he explained.
The work is being done by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), according to the SDM, and the administration is fully cooperating with them. Members of Hindu organisations and residents began flocking at the temple as the relocating work began, and they were evacuated, according to police. On Tuesday, in the midst of the protest, former union minister Swami Chinmayanand visited the temple and conducted an “aarti.” A rumoured audio recording of the district magistrate threatening a temple priest has also gone viral on social media.
