‘This ritual has been going on for years’: Muslims in Nashik’s Trimbakeshwar question need for SIT on temple incident
The ritual of showing frankincense from the Trimbakeshwar temple entrance steps is a practice that has been followed by local Muslims over the last several decades, community leaders said.
The Trimbakeshwar temple, where the Jyotirlinga is worshipped, is an important pilgrimage centre for Hindus. (Express File Photo) Muslim community leaders in Maharashtra have expressed surprise over the state government’s decision to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe an alleged attempt to forcibly enter Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik on Saturday, saying that the ritual of showing loban or frankincense from the temple entrance steps is a practice that has been followed by local Muslims over the last several decades.
“There was no attempt to enter the temple or put any chadar inside the temple premises. Muslims in Trimbakeshwar have for generations been following the practice of sending the fumes of frankincense from the steps of the temple premises during an annual gathering at a nearby dargah. This practice has been going on for decades and the local Hindu community has never taken exception to it. We are surprised that this issue has now been raked up and it has taken a communal turn,” Avez Kokni, the former president of the Trimbakeshwar Nagar Parishad, told The Indian Express.
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