The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No tomb found on disputed land

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Sunday, Jul 15, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No tomb found on disputed land

Staff Reporter

Excavation of the area yields nothing; people told not to heed rumours

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

Clearing the air: The spot on the land adjoining the Sultan Shah mosque at Shivajinagar in Bangalore being dug on Saturday to confirm if a tomb existed there.

Bangalore: Claims over the discovery of a tomb on the disputed land adjoining the Sultan Shah mosque, in Shivajinagar here were put to rest amid high drama on Saturday night, after an excavation of the spot yielded nothing.

To resolve the disputed claims over the existence of a tomb in the land, which is part of the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital expansion project, the police earlier held a meeting with representatives of the mosque management and leaders of the Muslim community. “We told them to remove the cement slabs and check for themselves whether a tomb really existed,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Bipin Gopalkrishna told The Hindu.

Members of the community, however, were initially divided over the idea of digging up the spot and tension prevailed as the situation threatened to deteriorate further.

The digging finally began around 8 p.m. after prayers were offered at the mosque in the presence of the religious leaders of the community. Senior police officials and the general public had gathered by the hundreds. Even as the excavation was on, spokespersons of the mosque implored the restive crowd, over the public address system, to exercise restraint.

When nothing was found, the religious leaders of the community, one by one, announced the same over the public address system and thanked the police for their support and cooperation. They also advised the crowd to avoid falling prey to unnecessary rumours and vacate the premises peacefully.

Police explanation

Earlier in the day, a police communiqué said: “The PWD authorities symbolically began the construction work at the site at 7 p.m. on Friday as the “inauspicious Aashada maasa” was to start the next morning. “After placing two buckets of concrete cement in the north-east corner of the area cleaned, they left the site to resume the work formally on Saturday. No graves were seen by the PWD authorities, contractor or police officials present at the spot,” the release added.

Soon after the authorities left, rumours flew that the PWD staff came across a grave and covered it up with concrete before leaving. The release said the rumours were baseless and provocative and that protection would be given to PWD authorities to commence work on Sunday.

The land is part the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital expansion project and the mosque authorities had laid claim to it.

After the Karnataka High Court ruled that it belonged to the State Government, the authorities started excavation work to construct a postgraduate students’ hostel of the hospital.

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