KANPUR, Aug. 12 -- Members of Hindu right-wing outfits allegedly vandalised a mausoleum in the Abunagar area of Fatehpur on Monday morning and hoisted a saffron flag on the structure, demanding permission to offer prayers there, claiming that a temple had previously existed at the site. The incident within the Eidgah premises around 10am led to a brief stone-pelting episode between two communities before the police restored order. According to officials, the group - comprising members of the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal - broke through police barricades around 10am and reached the site, asserting that the building was not a mausoleum but an old temple dedicated to 'Thakurji'. They accused "anti-social elements" of erasing its original identity. The main door and grave inside the mausoleum, claimed to be as that of Nawab Abdul Samad by the Muslim side, were damaged. Reinforcements were summoned from nearby police stations, including Sadar Kotwali, Radha Nagar, Malwan, Hussain Ganj, and Hariyawan. Eyewitnesses said rituals were performed and incense sticks lit, and a saffron flag was hoisted on the structure. The flag was later removed by the police. Members of the other community soon gathered in the vicinity, leading to slogan-shouting and stone-pelting. Police dispersed both sides using mild force. By late afternoon, the situation was reported to be under control, though most shops in Abunagar remained closed. "It is being probed how the mob managed to enter the mausoleum and took the law into their hands despite elaborate security arrangements," said police. In the evening, an FIR was registered against 10 named and 150 unidentified individuals under sections 190 (unlawful assembly), 191(2) and 191(3) (rioting), 301 (mischief causing damage) and 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of 7 Criminal Law Amendment Act and sections 2 and 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, said SP (Fatehpur) Anoop Kumar Singh. "Through video and drone footage, we are identifying those who entered and damaged the maqbara," he said. District magistrate Ravindra Singh said representatives of both communities had been counselled and sent back. "Discussions had been held earlier with both sides. They will be invited again for talks. A separate inquiry is going on to determine whether the structure was a temple or a mausoleum," he said. Rashtriya Ulema Council's national general secretary Talha Amir, in a statement, said the structure was a mausoleum of Nawab Abdul Samad. "The site is protected and a national monument," he said. Elaborate security arrangements had been put in place in and around the mausoleum after BJP's district president, Mukhlal Pal, had warned the district administration that he along with Hindu organisations would perform prayers at the site on August 11, claiming that the structure was a temple with a 'Shivling'. The dispute over the 13-bigha property dates back nearly a century. Hindu petitioners cite an August 17, 1926, order of the SDM court in a partition case identifying the site as "Thakurji Sanwaria Sahab Virajman Mandir". Revenue records list the main structure under land number 1097 and an adjoining field under land number 753, originally recorded as a garden of Vishnuman Singh before changing ownership. The Muslim side refers to entries in the records describing the site as "Mangi Maqbara". According to local accounts, the disputed structure is the final resting place of Nawab Abdul Samad. The matter had been simmering for several days. On August 9, the Math Mandir Sangharsh Samiti submitted a memorandum to district magistrate Ravindra Kumar, claiming the site was originally a Thakurdwara temple and urging the administration to remove "encroachments" and those allegedly attempting to alter its character. The memorandum, signed by BJP leaders, was followed by announcements to celebrate Janmashtami there on August 11. District BJP president Pal released a video urging people to gather for religious rituals. Similar appeals were issued by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said: "BJP members are trained in creating divisions in society. They succeed in politics only when hatred spreads and distances grow. They are following the same ideology once propagated by the British."...