Hindus perform puja, Muslims offer namaz at Bhojshala

PTI

Dhar (MP)

Amid tight security, thousands of Hindus performed puja to mark Basant Panchami and a handful of Muslim devotes offered namaz at separate locations within the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district on Friday.

No untoward incident was reported in the entire district, officials said, as the administration made arrangements for both the communities to worship and offer prayers at the 11th century monument in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directive. Around 8,000 security personnel were deployed in the area, turning it into a fortress.

Thousands of Hindu devotees offered ‘akhand’ or continuous prayers to Goddess Saraswati, also known as Vag-devi, from sunrise to sunset. Elsewhere in the same premises, 15 to 17 Muslim devotees offered Friday prayers between 1 pm and 3 pm.

“Following the Supreme Court’s directives, a meeting was held with both the parties and they were briefed about the arrangements. Both the parties were given separate places to observe their respective religious practices,” said District Magistrate Priyank Mishra.

The puja as well as namaz were performed without any hindrance, and peace and order prevailed throughout the district, he added.

Dhar resident Imran Khan, however, alleged that officials took about 20 Muslims to the complex, telling them that they would be offering namaz in the mosque within the premises, but it did not materialise.

“We were kept at a location near the mosque, but no official came to meet us later, and we were unable to offer namaz there. The administration has betrayed us,” he said.

Asked about the allegation, District Magistrate Mishra said, “I would not like to comment on this. I will only officially say that 15 to 17 members of the Muslim community offered namaz peacefully at the designated place, as per the arrangements made in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directives. The community had discussed the symbolic namaz with us beforehand.”

As to the claim made by some other local Muslim residents that ‘outsiders’ were brought to offer namaz, the collector said, “I don’t think the (Supreme Court’s) directives mentioned where the people (worshippers) should be from.”