Nashik: Fadnavis forms SIT to probe Muslim men trying to enter Trimbakeshwar temple, offering ‘chadar’ on Shivling

On May 16, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis ordered the police to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the attempts made by a group of Muslims to enter the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik on May 13. An alleged video of the incident shows sacrilege attempts made by Islamists, It shows they tried offering Chaadar at the temple.

In a post on Twitter, the official handle of the Fadnavis office shared the details, stating a First Information Report (FIR), is lodged against the miscreants. The post, originally in Marathi, translated by Google as “Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered strict action by registering an FIR on the alleged incident of a certain mob gathering at the main entrance of the Trimbakeshwar temple.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also ordered the formation of an SIT under the chairmanship of officers of the rank of Additional Director General of Police to investigate the incident.

The SIT will not only probe this year’s incident but also last year’s incident when a certain mob allegedly entered the Trimbakeshwar temple premises through the main entrance.”

Notably, the videos of the said incident were shared with captions, ‘On May 13, at night at around 9.15 pm 5-6 youths of Muslim community came to Temple carrying a flower chaddar to be offered on the Shivling, which is among the most revered 12 jyotirlingas of India. They were stopped by the guards & sent back’.

The Hindus find this move as an attempt of sacrilege and demanded action against the Islamists. As quoted before, this was not the first incident, a similar case was reported last year as well.

On May 15, Nashik Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Shahaji Umap attributed the incident to a “misunderstanding”.

“The incident seems to have happened due to a misunderstanding as the Muslims wanted to go inside the temple premises when their procession was underway… We called the group of Muslims who said they will not henceforth attempt to enter the premises if it is not allowed,” Umap said.

The temple trusts have installed a board outside the temple which shows only Hindus are allowed inside the temple.

Local police officers said the incident took place on May 13 when a group of people tried to enter the temple when security guards stopped them. The group returned after the trust members also opposed their entry.

As per reports, individuals participating in the urs procession, who happened to be Muslims, tried to barge into the Trimbakeshwar temple premises and place a chadar on the sacred Shivling. The forceful entry bid was stopped by vigilant security personnel and the authorities managing the temple.

The management team of Shri Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust sent a letter to the Trimbakeshwar police inspector informing about the incident. It occurred on May 13 at approximately 9:41 PM. According to the letter, during the procession of the urus near the north gate of the Shri Trimbakeshwar Mandir, certain participants from the urus attempted to enter the temple premises. However, the security personnel from the Maharashtra police promptly intervened and prevented the Muslims from entering the premises.