OPINION | How UP police foiled a diabolical plot to lit a communal fire in Ayodhya

A major plot to foment communal disturbance in Ayodhya was foiled by Uttar Pradesh Police with the arrest of seven accused, all Hindus, within 48 hours of the incident. The plot was diabolic and the execution was meticulous.

 
Eleven youths riding on four motorbikes went around the holy city of Ayodhya on Tuesday (April 26) night, threw pieces of meat outside mosques, Eidgah and dargah, along with pages torn from a holy book and posters carrying inflammable threats. To hide their identity, they wore Muslim skullcaps on their heads while committing this act of perfidy.
 
 The aim was to force Muslims to come out of their homes and start violence, but this diabolic plan was nipped in the bud through timely intervention by Ayodhya police and district administration.  The accused were identified, and seven out of the eleven accused were thrown behind bars. All of them were Hindus. This gang wanted to tarnish the fair name of Hinduism’s holiest city of Ayodhya, where Lord Ram was born.  
 
According to Ayodhya police, the name of the outfit is Hindu Yodha Sangathan and the mastermind was Mahesh Mishra, who has been arrested. Inspector General of UP Police K. P. Singh and SSP Ayodhya Sailesh Kumar Pandey disclosed the entire plot that was foiled. Those arrested are: Mahesh Mishra, Pratyush Shrivastav, Nitin Kumar, Deepak Kumar Gaur, Brajesh Pandey, Shatrughna Prajapati and Vimal Pandey. Sushil Yadav, Anil Chauhan and Babu Mishra are absconding. All of them are residents of Ayodhya.
 
Those arrested confessed that it was Mahesh Mishra who was the mastermind and wanted to take revenge for the stoning on Hanuman Jayanti procession that took place in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. They bought 2 copies of a holy book, flax posters and Muslim skullcaps, and arranged for portions of meat, which were to be thrown outside mosques. They assembled at a dhaba, had dinner, and then went on a spree of throwing portions of meat, inflammable posters and torn pages of the holy book outside mosques.
 
According to police, the youths threw meat, posters and torn pages outside a mosque in Kashmiri mohalla, Tatshah mosque, Gulabshah dargah, Civil Lines Eidgah, and Ghosiana Ramnagar mosque, before reassembling at Mahesh Mishra’s house. On Wednesday morning, when the caretakers of mosques saw these objectionable things lying outside, they informed police, which swung into action. Police removed all these objectionable items, and with the help of fire brigade, all the places were cleaned up by spraying water from tankers. The entire Eidgah was washed clean. This was done before people woke up in the morning.
 
Police said, the caretakers of mosques and Eidgah fully cooperated, kept this entire matter under wraps, in order to prevent circulation of rumours among Muslims. In this manner, the communal fire that was expected to engulf Ayodhya was doused, even before it was lit. The accused had selected mosques which were not under cctv observation, but they missed one mosque, where a cctv was working, which provided vital clues to the police about the accused.
 
The caretakers of mosques acted wisely. Jamal Ahmed Khan, the mutawalli of Markazi Jama Masjid, Tatshah, said, when they found the objectionable posters, they told their associates not to reveal this to others, and brought in the police immediately. They knew that it was all part of a diabolical plot, because portions of meat were thrown. Since Eid ul-Fitr was hardly a few days away, Muslims had planned to celebrate the festival in a grand manner, because they could not do so for the last two years due to Covid pandemic.
 
Solving the case was not easy for the local police. There were hardly any solid clues, and it was difficult to identify the accused. But within 40 hours, the entire plot was unravelled, and the accused were rounded up. They confessed to their act. Three out of the seven had a criminal history. The mastermind Mahesh Mishra has already three FIRs lodged against him.
 
In my prime time show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ on Thursday night, we showed the mastermind Mahesh Mishra saying on camera that he was not sorry for what he has done. He praised Yogi Adityanath, but in the same breath, projected himself as a big supporter of Hindus. Mishra admitted that whatever he did was out of anger, and in the same breath, said, it is important to awaken Hindus.
 
The man who describes himself as a well-wisher of Hindus, is, in reality, a big enemy of Hindus and Hindusthan. Stringest action must be taken against such people, who had planned to through Ayodhya into a communal cauldron. Ayodhya Police has done the right thing in booking the accused under National Security Act, meaning that they will not get bail easily, and they can be sentenced to life imprisonment.
 
These youths have commited a big crime, by posing as Muslims, and trying to lit a communal fire. After Ayodhya police rounded them up, it did not hide their community identity, and paraded them before media, before packing them off to jail. 
 
Leaders like Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Asaduddin Owaini, who allege that Muslims are being treated harshly in India, must watch this news. These youths posed as Muslims while committing a heinous crime, but police caught the criminals, and all of them were Hindus. This case is a perfect example to show that a criminal is a criminal, he has no religion or caste. The common man realizes this, but I think, our leaders should also realize the same.
 
The atmosphere that is prevailing in the country presently demands that police must always remain alert and common people must control their emotions. Inimical forces are trying to disturb peace in India, by planning such acts. Hinduism’s holiest city Ayodhya was made the target, and had a communal riot taken place, if could have brought infamy for  India in international circles.
 

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