Clash after graves of Sufi saint, kin razed in Ahmedabad, 37 held
The police said the graves were removed “subtly” when police personnel were absent at the shrine owing to deployment on election duty on May 7.
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The Sufi shrine from where the graves were removed. Express imageRemoval of graves at a Sufi shrine in Ahmedabad on May 7 led to communal clashes, followed by alleged incidents of stone-pelting on Wednesday. While 37 people were arrested on charges of attempt to murder and rioting, another 10 were detained on Thursday, said Ahmedabad rural SP Om Prakash Jat.
The police said the graves were removed “subtly” when police personnel were absent at the shrine owing to deployment on election duty on May 7.
Two cross-FIRs have been lodged at the Aslali police station based on complaints filed by two trustees of the dargah — Sirajhussein Saiyed and Praveenbhai Rajabhai Patel — on Wednesday. While the complaint by Saiyed names 14 people and “other unknown” persons, Patel’s complaint names 43 as accused, in addition to “other unknown” persons.
The incident occurred near the Pir Imamshah Bawa dargah, run by Pir Imamshah Bawa Trust and situated in the sensitive Pirana village on outskirts of Ahmedabad. The trust-run campus originally consisted of a shrine of Pir Imamshah Bawa’s four grandsons and a granddaughter, a mosque named after the Sufi saint, and a graveyard where Saiyeds, who are descendants of Pir Imamshah Bawa, are buried.
The shrine is visited by Sufi faith followers having a blend of Hinduism and Islam. The Hindu followers of the saint are known as ‘satpanthis’. The place of worship, several trustees alleged, has undergone changes over the years with a few graves covered by concrete walls, the minarets modified, the construction of a wall bifurcating the graveyard and the dargah, the karbala vanishing, and idols installed. In the latest change, trustee Nadimahmed Saiyed alleged, 13-14 graves, including the main grave of Imamshah Bawa now stand demolished, levelled, and fitted with stones over them.
The FIR lodged on the basis of Sirajhussein’s complaint also alleged the same, adding that he discovered the demolition when he went to the dargah on Wednesday morning.
Soon, the complaint added, several from his community gathered outside the dargah when the Hindu trustees came out with a mob equipped with arms, including swords, iron pipes, sticks and stones. A clash ensued, leaving some, including police personnel, with minor injuries.
“We have been receiving threats from one of the trustees, Harshad Patel, since the past 3-4 months that they will be removing the graves soon, following which we had approached the police. The police had deployed personnel as well following our complaints. However, on May 7, they were deployed on election duty and the Hindu trustees took advantage,” Nadimahmed says.
Jat said, “There is a state reserve police (SRP) point where an SRP personnel is always deployed for law and order reasons, and this is near the gate. There are also Gram Rakshak Dal (GRD) police personnel deployment. The campus is huge and there is always construction underway. On May 7, while the SRP personnel was present, the GRD was not there because of poll duty and the changes were made subtly.”
The Imamshah Bawa Roza Trust comprises 11 members — three Saiyed Muslim trustees and remaining eight Hindu trustees.
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