• ASI shuts Aurangzeb’s tomb in Aurangabad after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Remarks

    National
    ASI shuts Aurangzeb’s tomb in Aurangabad after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Remarks

    Milankumar Chauley, ASI’s Aurangabad circle superintendent, confirmed that the tomb had been closed for five days from Thursday at the request of the mosque committee and the police.


    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">Digital Desk: The Archaeological
    Survey of India (ASI) shut down Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in the
    Aurangabad district of Maharashtra for five days after a mosque committee in
    the area tried to lock the place on Wednesday, officials said.



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN"> 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Navnirman
    Sena (MNS) spokesperson Gajanan Kale in a tweet, questioned the need for the
    monument’s existence in the state and said, ‘it should be destroyed’.



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN"> 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">Kale’s comment came after AIMIM
    leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit to the tomb earlier this month was criticised
    by the ruling Shiv Sena and the BJP and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS. While BJP
    leaders demanded Owaisi be booked under sedition charges, NCP chief Sharad
    Pawar wondered if such an act was aimed at creating a new controversy in
    Maharashtra, which has been peaceful.



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN"> 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">Subsequently, security at the
    ASI-protected monument site at Khuldabad in Aurangabad district was increased
    by the Aurangabad rural police and the ASI to avoid untoward incidents, and
    proper screening of every person was being done. 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN"> 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">However, the mosque committee
    requested authorities to close the tomb for a few days along with the police,
    following which the ASI took a decision.



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN"> 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">Milankumar Chauley, ASI’s Aurangabad
    circle superintendent, confirmed that the tomb had been closed for five days
    from Thursday at the request of the mosque committee and the police.



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN"> 



    color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">An official of the Aurangabad rural
    police said, “The situation at the monument site is under control and no
    untoward incident has taken place. However, the tomb has been closed to
    tourists as a precautionary measure.”