The Hindu community on Monday filed an application in the court of District and Sessions, Judge Mansehra, seeking registration of a case against two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders-- Senator Sardar Guru Gurdeep Singh and Member of the Provincial Assembly Ravi Kumar-- for forcibly taking possession of Shawana Temple at Ghandian in Mansehra.
The case has been filed through Zafar Iqbal Advocate under section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code, reported News International.
Shawana Temple/ Shive Temple is the sole place of worship of Hindus in the entire Hazara Division and the applicants Sham Lal and Sajin Lal were citizens of Pakistan and belonged to the Hindu Faith, as mentioned in the application.
Sham Lal who filed the application was the chairman of Shive Temple and was responsible for looking after the temple. He claimed that on 19 March 2021 when he along with his family went to the Shive Temple, they were refused to enter the temple by Senator Sardar Gurdeep Singh of PTI Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA Ravi Kumar who were present at the site along with the police constable to guard the temple.
They also uprooted the Shive Temple Society Board affixed on the site and took it along with them, News International reported.
Sham Lal also claimed that they were ignored on approaching SHO Baffa on the same day where they verbally informed him of the incident and were told to come back the next day.
The next day, instead of filing a complaint, the SHO after registering a fabricated FIR forcibly took back the FIR copy from them and warned them not to go to the temple, he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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