At least 100 grave and tombstones in a Muslim graveyard were damaged by a group of unidentified persons in Kondanayakanahalli in Hosapete taluk of Vijayanagara district.
In a complaint filed by Mohammad Ghouse, president of the Muslim Graveyard (Sunni) Additional Property of Masjid-e-Firdous, at rural police station, stated that members of Muslim community had been burying the dead on the said land since 1974. In 1980, the State government purchased the land from T. Appanna and further in 2007, the cemetery land was registered to the Muslim Graveyard (Sunni) Additional Property of Masjid-e-Firdous, which comes under the Karnataka State Wakf Board.
Mr. Ghouse, speaking to The Hindu, on the phone alleged that some miscreants entered the graveyard with a JCB machine on Sunday night (December 25) and demolished and desecrated over 100 graves. He called it an attempt to disturb peace and communal harmony. This was the first time such an incident had occurred, he added.
The complainant and members of the community urged the district administration to take stringent action against those who demolished and desecrated the gravestones.
Published - December 27, 2022 09:03 pm IST
