On February 1, Sultan Usman Khan, a member of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), posted a video on social media indicating and vowing to replace the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya with Babri Mosque. The video was posted as Shaligram stones or Shaligram Shila from Nepal were being transported to Ayodhya for the construction of the Ram temple.
Khan posted the video on Facebook and said, “This stone is being taken to Ayodhya for Ram Temple, for RSS’ temple which is being built on our Babri Masjid. Take this stone there today but remember Babri Masjid will be built one day at the same place. Babri Masjid Jindabad. Nara-e-Takhbeer Allah-hu-Akhbar.”
The video was widely shared on social media and has attracted a large number of likes and comments on Facebook. Khan is a resident of Chakia, Bihar and reports suggest that he posted the video in the wake of recent NIA raids in the East Champaran district in Bihar.
The Police took cognizance of the incident and said that Khan was saying some objectionable things targeting a community that might create unrest in the country. “We have seen the video, veracity of which is being investigated scientifically. Further legal action will be taken after verifying the veracity of the video,” said SP Kantesh Kumar Mishra.
Reports mention that Khan had posted another video in the past in which he could be seen training some young Muslim men by hoisting the PFI flag. The video was posted by Khan in which he mentioned that he was a PFI member. However, he is said to have deleted the account and created a new one later in which he mentioned that he is an SDPI member.
The Shaligram stones, also known as the Shaligram Shila, arrived in Ayodhya on February 3 and are to be used to make the idols of Lord Shri Ram and Sita Maa. The stones were unearthed in Nepal’s Kali Gandaki river and are 60 million years old. The idols will be erected in Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, which is currently under construction.
Notably, the Centre on September 27 last year issued a notification banning the Islamist organization Popular Front of India and its affiliate organizations. The MHA stated that the organizations including All India Imams Council, Campus Front of India (CFI), Rehab India Foundation, National Conf of Human Rights Org, National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, and Rehab Foundation operated unlawfully and needed to be banned under UAPA.
The ban on the PFI came after two rounds of searches by the NIA in a multi-agency investigation against the organization for sponsoring terror operations in the nation. The initial series of raids occurred on September 22, with a follow-up on Tuesday, September 27 in multiple states, resulting in the arrest of at least 250 persons associated with PFI.
The NIA officials also recovered several incriminating materials from the PFI hubs located in around 17 states of the country. Prominent among them include a brochure and CD related to ‘Mission 2047’. The PFI members had also planned to blow up the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and build Babri Masjid at the same location. They also had planned to make India an Islamic country by 2047, the year in which India would complete 100 years of its Independence.
