Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 15: Shrine of a revered Sufi, Baba Haneef-ud-din, was gutted in a mysterious blaze last night in the Central Kashmir district of Budgam, triggering protests and shut down in the area.
The shrine mostly made of wood was gutted last night in a mysterious fire at Ratsuna village of Budgam district. The shrine that is located atop of a hillock was completely destroyed in the fire.
A complete shutdown was observed in Beerwah town and adjacent villages of Ratsuna following the incident, but the situation remained under control and no untoward incident was reported. People demanded probe into the fire mishap and alleged that it is a well nit conspiracy under which shrines are targeted to incite sectarian clashes.
Ghulam Rasool Hami, chairman of the Mutteheda Ulema Ahl-e-Sunnat (MUAS), accused the Government of failing to protect the religious places in Kashmir. “This is a conspiracy to destroy the ancient religious assets of Muslims in Kashmir. We will not sit silent and come on roads to unveil the conspiracy,” Hami said.
The shrine was constructed 10 years back after it was gutted in early 1990s in a mysterious blaze.
This is the second shrine to be destroyed in a fire incident within three weeks. On June 25, the shrine of Syed Ghulam Qadir Jeelani popularly known as Dastageer Sahib in Khanyar, Srinagar was destroyed in a mysterious fire incident resulting in a week long disturbance across Kashmir.
The religious leaders and common people have been targeting Government for fire safety of shrines and other religious places.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel