An incident of encroachment on temple land has surfaced from Umran village in the Thathia police station area of Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, tensions flared between Muslims and Hindus in the village after a Mazar was found to have been erected on land that belongs to the village temple.
कन्नौज के ठठिया थाना क्षेत्र के उमरन गांव में जमीनी विवाद को लेकर दो पक्षों में पथराव हुआ। गाली-गलौज के बाद पथराव हुआ, जिसका वीडियो सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल हो गया। पुलिस ने मामले की जांच शुरू कर दी है और स्थिति पर नजर रखी जा रही है।#Kannauj @kannaujpolice @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/fGHHbvzDQd
— भारत समाचार | Bharat Samachar (@bstvlive) January 4, 2025
According to the report, about a week ago, when members of the Hindu community went to the site to protest the encroachment on temple land, they were met with stone pelting from the Muslim community. The attackers also targeted Hindu women who were passing by. A video of the incident, showing the stone pelting, recently surfaced on social media.
Dispute erupts over temple land in Uttar Pradesh village
The issue reportedly involves an elevated plot of land spanning 70 Bighas, densely covered with Acacia trees. Of these 70 Bighas, around 7 Bighas belong to the village temple, while the Gram Sabha owns the rest. Villagers claim that the land has remained vacant due to the thick Acacia trees. However, recently, a Mazar was found erected on the temple’s land, triggering violence between the two communities.
The villagers alleged that local Muslims have been eyeing the land for some time. They accused both the local police and the Electricity Department of colluding with the Muslims in an attempt to seize the temple land. According to the villagers, the police assisted the Muslims in levelling the elevated land and engaging in illegal mining. Furthermore, it is claimed that the Muslims managed to install a tubewell on the land with the help of the Electricity Department and began cultivating it.
According to the report, when Mahipal, a Dalit man from the village, confronted the Muslim men about the Mazar and the stone-pelting incident, they physically assaulted him and used caste-based slurs. The villagers further alleged that the police initially refused to cooperate and declined to file a case. It was only after leaders from Hindu organizations such as Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad intervened and raised the issue with higher authorities that any action was taken.
An FIR has been filed against Noor Hasan, Ibl-e-Hasan, and Qamil for physically assaulting Mahipal and using caste-based slurs, with charges framed under the relevant legal provisions.
