Mumbai, May 23: A criminal complaint has been filed against a digital content creator for allegedly trespassing into the Tower of Silence (Doongerwadi), a restricted and sacred Parsi burial site, to illicitly film funeral rituals.
The complaint was lodged on May 23, 2026, by Adil Malia, the Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the trust that manages the three-century-old cemetery.
According to police records, the incident came to light on the evening of May 22, when Malia was alerted by a friend to an Instagram video link.
Unauthorised video allegedly filmed inside sacred site
The footage, uploaded by an internet personality operating under the digital moniker “ultimate-zone-prince”, allegedly depicted unauthorised recordings inside the strictly private religious grounds.
Subsequent investigations identified the account operator as Prince Shitla Prasad Kanojiya, a resident of Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, currently residing in Vile Parle, Mumbai. Malia confirmed that a police complaint had been filed.
In a statement to the community, the trustees of the BPP said that the accused had not only trespassed on their sacred Doongerwadi lands but had also widely disseminated videos that had deeply hurt the sentiments of members of their peace-loving community.
Such actions constituted a serious violation of the sanctity of a site that holds immense religious and cultural significance for Parsis worldwide, the trustees said.
The accused was brought to the Malabar Hill Police Station and interrogated by senior police officers. The BPP said its legal team would coordinate closely with the Malabar Hill Police Station and pursue all necessary follow-up action in accordance with the law.
Police register FIR under BNS and IT Act
The Doongerwadi complex, spanning a forest area of around 50 acres on Malabar Hill, houses the Dokhma, structures where traditional Zoroastrian funerary rites are performed. Entry to these structures is legally restricted to specific trained members of the Parsi community in order to preserve sanctity and privacy.
The complainant stated that Kanojiya, accompanied by a cameraman, bypassed security measures by entering the premises through an unauthorised route near Kamala Nehru Park, which neighbours the Parsi cemetery.
The duo stands accused of recording highly sensitive funeral proceedings, human remains, and sacred rituals without authorisation, and subsequently publishing the material to generate commercial revenue and online traction.
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The Malabar Hill Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR), booking Kanojiya under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These include Section 329 (trespass), Section 299 (deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings), Section 298 (injuring or defiling a place of worship), Section 301 (disturbing a religious assembly), and Section 302 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings). Additionally, charges have been invoked under Section 66(E) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, for violation of privacy.
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