Aligarh: Police in Aligarh have busted a conspiracy in which four men allegedly spray-painted “I love Mohammad” on the walls of several temples to allegedly “implicate members of the Muslim community and inflame communal tensions”.
The incident took place in the Lodha area of Aligarh district, where the graffiti—misspelt as “Mamud” and “Muhmad”—initially triggered outrage on social media, with posts blaming Muslims for defacing Hindu shrines.
Senior Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said the investigation revealed that the act was a deliberate attempt to stir discord amid a long-standing property dispute between two local groups.
The accused, identified as Jishant Kumar, Akash Kumar, Dilip Kumar, and Abhishek Saraswat, all aged between 30 and 35, were arrested after a technical probe involving CCTV footage and call records exposed their involvement. A fifth accused remains absconding.
The SSP said the group aimed to frame Muslim residents of nearby villages and create unrest. “It was not a religious act but a planned attempt to provoke communal tension and settle local disputes,” Jadaun said.
The graffiti was discovered earlier this week on temple walls in Bhagwanpur and Bulaqigarh villages. The discovery led to panic and the registration of complaints against Muslim locals. However, as the investigation progressed, police found inconsistencies in the spellings and handwriting on the graffiti, which differed from slogans used in earlier Islamist protests.
Once the conspiracy was uncovered, cases against Muslim residents were withdrawn. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity between groups, defiling places of worship, and disturbing public peace.