Site of razed temple declared ‘private’ property

Report states it does not belong to Hindus; community claims site no longer sealed

A report on the alleged demolition of Lyari's Hanuman Mandir declared the property "private" and not "Hindu property", amid claims by Hindu residents of the area that the temple was no longer sealed, as it had been after the dispute emerged.

The pre-partition Hanuman Mandir on Fida Hussain Shaikha Road was allegedly razed by unidentified persons in the wee hours of August 17. Hindu families had accused a builder, who had recently purchased the property where the temple was located, of the demolishing the religious site.

"We were assured by the builder that the temple would not be destroyed," a Hindu resident, Heera Lal, had told The Express Tribune back then. Following the fiasco, the local administration had sealed the site with the police's assistance and launched an investigation into the matter. It submitted a report on the matter to the deputy commissioner's office after three and a half months on Wednesday.

'No more sealed'

Meanwhile, a Hindu community leader, though he expressed ignorance about the report, claimed the site was no longer sealed and the "influential builder" had been allowed entry to it.

The Hindu activist, who requested anonymity, said they were being "pressurised by officials to remain silent." However, he said, "We need justice and want to know who razed our sacred place where holy idols were kept."

A shopkeeper who runs his business near the temple also claimed to have been seeing a security guard visiting the place over the past couple of days. "I don't know how and when the seal was removed," he remarked.

However, Lyari assistant commissioner Abdul Karim Memon, who had sealed the site's main gates in the presence of police and area residents, maintained that the property was still sealed.

'Private property'

With regards to the report on the matter, Memon said it had concluded that the site was a "private a property and not a Hindu property."

He further claimed that it was proved during the investigation that one of the two Hindu families, who had been residing in compound for years, had removed one of the idols from the temple.

But Hindu residents have the right to get a case registered against anyone they want on the matter, Memon further remarked.

According to the assistant commissioner, 11 out of the 18 families living in the building near the temple had vacated the apartments after receiving cash payment from the new owner.

"The [Hindu] tenants have admitted that the property is private," he said, adding that the new owner had also offered to rebuild the temple while drawing up the agreement.

It was a small temple of two square feet, according to Memon, who also ruled out that any of the Hindus in the area were being threatened by anyone, including office staff.

Refuting Memon's claims, though, a Hindu from the area commented, "The temple belongs to us, not to the handful of families residing in the [nearby] building." He insisted that all Hindu families visiting the temple should have been taken into confidence before the property was sold, alleging that the officials' attitude during the investigation had been "inhumane" towards them.

As per the investigation officer, the previous owner, before selling off the property to the builder, had offered to sell it to the area's Hindus. But they were not in a position to purchase it, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2020.