Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhumi pujan on alleged Waqf Board land in Kolar satellite sparked controversy on Sunday as BJP MLA Rameshhar Sharma performed bhumi pujan for setting up a cow shelter there.
A gaushala (cow shelter) will be constructed on graveyard land in Akbarpur Banjari located in the Kolar area of Bhopal. The graveyard caretaker Sheikh Matin has filed a complaint alleging that the land belongs to Waqf Board-registered graveyard. He charged Congress leader Ashwini Srivastava with attempting to encroach upon the land to construct gaushala.
According to Waqf Board registration number-766, the place is a recognised graveyard, a fact that finds mention in state government gazette notification.
“It is false claim of Muslims that it is a graveyard. Congress leader Ashwini Srivastava told me that this land has been allotted to him. He wants to build free cow shelter here. His work is inspired by the spirit of service. I felt that this is a work of virtue, that's why I participated in the ground-breaking ceremony. There is no political motive in this,” MLA Rameshwar Sharma said.
Kolar police station incharge Sanjay Soni said, “We received complaint yesterday. We immediately forwarded the application to the tehsil office. Only after receiving a response from there can anything be said about this case.”
Waqf Board chairman Sanwar Patel told Free Press that the matter would be discussed with district administration on Monday. “We will check our records and discuss with the administration,” he added.
