Maha: Nobody tried to enter Trimbakeshwar temple forcibly as projected, claims Raut

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Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday alleged a conspiracy to form gangs in the name of Hindutva to fan communal sentiments in the state. His comments came in the wake of a row over the Trimbakeshwar temple entry incident.

Speaking to reporters in Nashik, Raut claimed nobody tried to enter the Trimbakeshwar temple forcibly as projected, but a group of people was only following an old tradition on the day of the incident.

"Nothing wrong happened in Trimbakeshwar. There is an old tradition of offering 'dhup' (burning of incense) to our deities. This is a 100-year-old tradition of Sufi saint Gulab Shah Sandal and devotees offer 'dhup' at the steps of the Trimbakeshwar temple. The people of another religion just followed this tradition by visiting the entrance gate of the temple and moved forward," the Rajya Sabha member claimed.

He said such traditions are followed not only in Maharashtra but also across India and even the prime minister visits dargahs like Ajmer Sharif.

"As per my information, the temple administration was pressured to give a complaint letter to the police. The incumbent government grabbed power in an immoral way and it does not have the support of the people. I see a conspiracy to create gangs under the pretext of Hindutva and disturb communal harmony in Maharashtra," Raut alleged. We are staunch Hindus and not hypocrites, he added.

He questioned Deputy Chief Minister and home minister Devendra Fadnavis' decision to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Trimbakeshwar incident.

"In the last 60 years, not a single riot took place on Ram Navami in Maharashtra but violence happened for the first time this year. Did you appoint SIT about the Ram Navami incident?" Raut asked.

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Police registered an FIR on Tuesday against four persons on the charge of defiling a place of worship amid allegations that a group of people from a different religion had tried to force their way into the Trimbakeshwar temple, officials had said.

Earlier in the day, members of Sakal Hindu Samaj sprinkled gomutra (cow urine) to purify the temple, one of 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, and performed aarti.

According to temple authorities, people from a different religion allegedly tried to enter the premises on Saturday night but security guards stopped them. (With inputs from PTI)