New Delhi: Police have yet to make any arrests over the vandalism of a mausoleum in Fatehpur’s Abu Nagar area, but have sealed off a one-kilometre radius around the site with barricades to prevent communal tensions from escalating.
On Tuesday (August 13), more than 150 people were booked—10 of them named—for damaging public property and disturbing the peace, PTI reported. Those named in the FIR include Dharmendra Singh (Bajrang Dal), Abhishek Shukla (BJP), Ajay Singh (district panchayat member), Devnath Dhakad (BJP), Vinay Tiwari (municipal councillor), Pushpraj Patel, Rithik Pal (BJP), Prasoon Tiwari (BJP), Ashish Trivedi, and Pappu Chauhan (Samajwadi Party).
Authorities have also barred locals from speaking to outsiders, while the media have been prohibited from entering the area. Plainclothes police officers are patrolling nearby localities, engaging with residents, and keeping a close watch on developments, the Wire reported.
On August 11, violence broke out in Fatehpur when members of various Hindutva organisations stormed a centuries-old mausoleum in Abu Nagar.
They hoisted saffron flags, performed Hindu rituals inside, and vandalised graves—all in the presence of security forces. The incident sparked stone-pelting and clashes with the Muslim community, leading to political backlash and raising concerns about policing in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.
According to PTI, none of the vandals have been arrested so far. However, police detained Congress city president Arif alias Gudda and several of his supporters for protesting and demanding action against those responsible. The party’s district president, Mahesh Dwivedi, was placed under house arrest when a delegation of two former MLAs planned to visit the site.
Dwivedi condemned the police move as “dictatorial” and accused the administration of being a “silent spectator” during the vandalism. Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Uttam Patel said he had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking an independent probe into the incident.