Agra (Uttar Pradesh): Cracking its whip on members of Hindu Mahasabha protesting against emperor Shah Jahan's 368 Urs at the Taj Mahal, the Agra police evicted them from the premises and sent them to jail on Thursday. The protesters were staging a sit-in in front of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) office.
The national spokesperson of the organization Sanjay Jat who was leading the stir was among those arrested. The Agra Commissionerate police registered an FIR on Thursday against those staging the sit-in hunger strike based on a complaint from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) office. The protesters were staging a dharna near the ASI office alleging that Taj Mahal is 'Tejo Mahalaya', a Hindu temple and hence Urs cannot be organized there.
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Police had arrested Jat on charges of extorting money from the meat traders of Agra city. The case was registered against Sanjay Jat with Lohamandi police station. Sanjay who had pending non-bailable warrant and property attachment orders against his name was holding protests on one pretext or the other.
Police officials, on the condition of anonymity, said, "Members and office bearers belonging to All India Hindu Mahasabha create nuisance on one pretext or the other. The activists of the organization often spoil the law and order situation of the city. Activists in the guise of Lord Shiv devotees attempted to enter into Taj Mahal to sprinkle holy water inside the temple. Last year, on the occasion of Valentine's Day, the activists went inside the lawn of Taj Mahal and beat up boy and girls."
