Bengaluru, May 17: Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday warned a Hindu group not to challenge law and order following their claim that the Masjid-e-Ala at Srirangapatna in Mandya district was a Hanuman temple and they should be allowed to worship there.
A fringe group called 'Narendra Modi Vichar Manch' (NMVM) recently approached the Mandya deputy commissioner on May 13 claiming that the Masjid-e-Ala was 'Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami temple', which the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan had destroyed and built a mosque over it.
The group led by C T Manjunath, secretary, demanded that Hindus should be allowed to perform prayers to Hanuman inside the mosque.
Reacting to the incident, Jnanendra said he was aware of the development. And called upon people not to challenge law and order to resolve the dispute on their own.
"If anyone challenges law and order then they will be dealt with accordingly. Hence, everyone should live harmoniously. We will go by the court order," he added.
In his petition to the deputy commissioner of Mandya, Manjunath said many historians have documented the existence of Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple, which Tipu Sultan had allegedly destroyed during his regime and converted into a mosque.
"The Mysuru Gazzettier by Luis Rice, the proceedings of the royal court, the life of Maharaja, Tareekh-e-Tipu and Hyder-e-Nishani and the letter written by Tipu to the Khalifa of Persia to prove our point."
"Hence, we request you to please review the documents of the archeology department and make provisions for Hindus to legally offer their prayers to Moodalabagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple (the existing mosque), Manjunath wrote in his petition to the deputy commissioner.
Later, in a video message sent to the media houses, a member of the NMVM demanded that a survey on the lines of Gyanvapi Masjid should be conducted at Masjid-e-Ala to find out the truth.
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Malda (PTI): In less than a fortnight after a senior Trinamool Congress councillor was murdered in West Bengal's Malda district, a TMC worker was killed and two other party members were injured in a shootout incident in broad daylight in the same region on Tuesday, police said.
Like in the previous incident, police suspected that Tuesday's shootout was also a fallout of the party's infighting.
The deceased was identified as Ataul Haque alias Hasu Sheikh and the two injured are Bakul Sheikh, a TMC local committee president, and Esaruddin Sheikh, a senior officer said.
The incident took place in Kaliaganj area in the morning when the TMC local committee president along with party workers went to a function to inaugurate a road, an officer said.
"One of the party workers who were shot at was declared dead by doctors at the Malda Medical College and Hospital. Two others are undergoing treatment there, and their condition was stated to be critical," he said.
"We are questioning people and witnesses. So far, we have not arrested anyone in this matter," the police officer told PTI.
TMC councillor in Malda Dulal Sarkar was killed on January 2, and seven people have been arrested in this connection.