The Agra Police arrested 11 Hindu men on Wednesday for hoisting saffron flags atop the Diwan ji ki Begum Shahi masjid, a Mughal-era mosque in the Tajganj area during a celebration of Ram temple consecration.
“About 1,000-1,500 people with sticks forcefully entered the mosque and raised objectionable slogans. They created chaos in the mosque and hoisted saffron flags on the mosque’s minarets, walls and inner premises,” said the police complaint by Zahir Uddin, the mosque’s caretaker, according to Indian Express.
The incident took place on 22 January, the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a ceremony to inaugurate the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Hindutva celebrations regarding the ceremony became violent on that day across India.
The detained persons have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity).
