UP: 'I love Mohammad' graffiti on temple walls in Aligarh linked to property dispute, 4 held

Aligarh: The controversy over the "I love Mohammad" graffiti found on the walls of several temples in two Aligarh villages last week took a surprising turn on Thursday with the arrest of four people, who allegedly carried out the act to falsely implicate their rivals in a land dispute case, officials said.

According to police, the accused defaced temple walls in Bhagwanpur and Bulakigarh villages in the Lodha area last Saturday, to create a false impression of communal provocation and blame their opponents.

Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Neeraj Kumar told reporters that the arrested have been identified as Dilip Kumar, Aakash, Abhishek Saraswat, and Nishant Kumar.

Another accused, Rahul, who is alleged to be one of the main conspirators, is absconding, the officer added.

"The investigation revealed that the accused conspired to write the graffiti to falsely implicate eight individuals with whom they were locked in land disputes. They wanted to portray their rivals as responsible for inciting communal tension," the SSP said.

The matter is entirely linked to two separate property disputes between four families, he said.

"In the first case, Rahul had a long-standing property dispute with Gul Mohammad's family, which had also led to a clash last year. The second dispute was between Mustaqeem's family and that of Nishant Kumar," the SSP said.

Police have booked the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Act.

On October 25, the temple walls in the two villages were found defaced with "I love Mohammad" graffiti, triggering communal unease in the area.

The accused subsequently managed to lodge an FIR at the Lodha police station naming seven persons, including Mustaqeem, Gul Mohammad, and five others, accusing them of defacing the temple walls.

Police officials said that initially, the local police were hesitant to register the named FIR, but later, following pressure from a local organisation's leader, a complaint was filed under his name.

Following the incident, a heavy police force has been deployed in the area for the past five days as a precautionary measure to prevent any communal flare-up.

Additionally, commending the restraint shown by residents, SSP Kumar lauded members of both communities for maintaining peace and reposing faith in the police.

According to the police, Rahul and Nishant Kumar's families conspired together last week to frame their rivals and staged the graffiti incident to "teach them a lesson".

Meanwhile, further investigation is underway, and efforts are on to trace the absconding accused, officials added.