A 26-year-old man, who police said is the member of two right-wing organisations, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly illegally demolishing a mazaar in Navyug Market nearly two weeks ago, officials of Ghaziabad Police said
Investigators privy with the case details said that the incident came to light after videos of the incident surfaced on social media and triggered outrage.
According to police, the accused, identified as Adarsh Dubey, is allegedly associated with two right-wing organisations. A first information report (FIR) was registered late on Monday night at Kotwali police station under sections 298 (damaging or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion) and 324(4) (mischief causing damage) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The undated videos, which investigators said are around 15-20 days old, show a group of men using hammers and tools to raze the structure at night. The men are allegedly seen flattening the site and removing the debris in a cart.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
Police said the incident occurred at Biharipura in Navyug Market. “The prime suspect was arrested on Tuesday, and police teams are trying to trace his accomplices,” said Upasana Pandey, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Vijay Nagar circle.
Sachin Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Kotwali police station, said Dubey is a resident of Panchsheel Colony under the jurisdiction of Bisrakh police station in Gautam Budh Nagar.
“When we reached the spot to verify, no debris was found. Locals told us there was a mazaar at the site, but it hasn’t been there for the past 15–20 days,” the FIR stated. During interrogation, Dubey allegedly told police he was a member of two right-wing groups. Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the other individuals seen in the video.