Crime
Trouble brews over Bhopal’s Jama Masjid, 11th-century Bhojshala monument
Two neighbouring states of north India, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, seem to be sailing in the same boat with similar headlines they have been making in the last few days.
While the Gyanvapi mosque case in Varanasi is being debated in and outside the court, a similar issue of ‘temple vs mosque’ seems to be brewing in Madhya Pradesh with a fresh instance surrounding the 19th century Jama Masjid located in Bhopal’s Chowk Bazar area.
A right-wing outfit, Sanskriti Bachao Manch, has claimed that the Jama Masjid located in old Bhopal’s Chowk Bazar locality was built in the 19th century on a Shiva temple.
The issue gained momentum after a group of right-wing activists on Thursday met the state Home Minister Narottam Mishra and drew the state government’s attention to this matter.
Sanskriti Bachao Manch headed by Chandrashekhar Tiwari submitted a memorandum demanding a detailed survey of the Jama Masjid.
Tiwari said that he is preparing to file a petition in the local court over the issue in the coming days.
“We have demanded a detailed archaeological survey of the Jama Masjid by the state government. We will also file a petition in the court seeking a survey and excavation to bare the history of the mosque built over a temple called Sabha Mandap’,” Tiwari told the press after meeting Mishra on Thursday.
Tiwari said that he has raised demands for the survey on the basis of facts collected in Hayate-I-Qudsi (a book on Bhopal’s first woman ruler Nawab Qudsia Begum). The empress (1819-1832) built the Jama Masjid and Gohar Mahal Palace in Bhopal.
“In the book on her life, Nawab Qudsia Begum mentioned that the work on building the Jama Masjid in Bhopal began in 1832 and was completed in 1857. It is also clearly mentioned that the mosque was built on the same land where a Hindu temple known as ‘Sabha Mandap’ already existed,” Tiwari claimed.
Notably, the same issue has been raised by another right-wing outfit called the ‘Hindu Dharma Sena’.
However, this is not the only ‘temple vs. mosque’ dispute in Madhya Pradesh that is being debated these days. Earlier this month, an organisation called the ‘Hindu Front for Justice’ filed a PIL in the high court claiming that the Bhojshala monument located in Dhar district belongs to the Hindu community.
A PIL was filed challenging the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order of 2003, which imposed restriction on Hindus to worship at Bhojshala daily.
Subsequently, the Indore bench issued notices to the ASI, Centre and the MP government seeking their response on the matter.
Bhojshala is an ASI protected 11th century monument which Hindus claim is a temple of Vagdevi (Saraswati), while the Muslim community treats it as the Kamal Maula Mosque.
As per the arrangement made by ASI on April 7, 2003, Hindus perform puja on the premises every Tuesday, while Muslims offer namaz in the complex on Fridays.
“Only the members of the Hindu community have a fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution of India to perform puja and rituals at the place of goddess Vagdevi within the premises of Saraswati Sadan, commonly known as Bhojshala situated in Dhar,” the petition claimed.
“Members of the Muslim community have no right to use any portion of the aforesaid property for any religious purposes,” it added.
The petitioner also urged the court to direct the Centre to bring back the idol of goddess Saraswati from the museum in London, and re-establish the same within the Bhojshala complex.
The plea has cited that the then rulers of Dhar had installed the holy statue at Bhojshala in 1034 AD and it was taken to London in 1857 by the British.
One of the petitioners, Ashish Goyal, said, “We have now started fighting legally to reclaim our religious place. The court found our petition comprehensive and issued notice.”
Crime
Senior citizen in Bengal’s Dinhata attempts suicide, fearing deletion of name from voters’ list

Kolkata, Oct 29: A 60-year old man, Khairul Sheikh, a resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, allegedly tried to commit suicide by consuming poison on Wednesday reportedly out of the fear of getting his name deleted from the voters’ list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, the groundwork for which will start from November 4.
His family members have told the police and the media persons that, although the name of Sheikh was in the voters’ list of 2002, the year when the SIR was conducted in West Bengal for the last time, the spelling of his name was incorrect in that list.
According to Shaikh’s family members, he was scared that because of the mistake in the spelling of his name in the 2002 list, his name might be deleted from the voters’ list.
Confirming the development, the new District Police Superintendent, Sandip Karra, told media persons that as per the versions of Sheikh’s family members since the SIR was announced for West Bengal by the ECI earlier this week, he started panicking.
“The police have started an investigation into the matter. He is currently under treatment. We will investigate him after he recovers and get to know from him the reasons behind his act,” Karra said.
Trinamool Congress’ Cooch Behar district president, Avijit Dey, said that the incident is proof of what kind of panic is there among the common people over the SIR.
“What I heard is that some people told Sheikh that because of the mistake in the spelling of his name in the 2022 list, his name will be deleted from the voters’ list following the fresh SIR, and he will also be deported to Bangladesh. Out that fear he tried to commit suicide,” Dey added.
The BJP legislator from Cooch Behar (Uttar) constituency, Sukumar Roy, said that even if the fear factor prompted Sheikh to attempt suicide, Trinamool Congress is responsible for that since the party is responsible for spreading a false sense of fear among people about the SIR.
On Tuesday, a 57-year-old man, identified as Pradeep Kar, committed suicide at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district, reportedly out of fear of being affected by a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal.
BJP had already raised doubts about whether the suicide note recovered from near his body was actually written by the deceased person and also demanded a proper investigation into the actual reason behind the suicide.
On Tuesday, both the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress’s General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP and the Union government of spreading a sense of fear and division by using NRC as a tool, where people are often made to doubt their own right to existence, the reflection of which was felt in the suicide of Kar.
Since the beginning, Trinamool Congress leadership had been describing the SIR as an indirect ploy by the BJP and the Union government to impose the NRC in West Bengal.
Crime
NCB Mumbai Seizes Over 1.3 kg Of Mephedrone, Arrests 4 Including Kingpin

Mumbai: On the basis of actionable intelligence, NCB Mumbai had intercepted a person at Pune on 18/19.09.2025 from whom 502 gms Mephedrone was seized. During immediate follow-up, 839 gms Mephedrone was seized from possession of another drug associate at home of the kingpin & his wife located in Mumbai.
During investigation, the kingpin and his wife were identified to be operating the drug syndicate and were on the run since then and travelled across multiple states to dodge the movement trail. However, after intensive follow up action they were located at a holiday resort in Goa. On 25.10.2025, NCB team intercepted the kingpin & his wife from Goa based resort after which they were arrested.
The kingpin is a habitual drug offender wherein 03 NDPS cases against him registered previously by NCB & Rajasthan Police. Further, he has 07 criminal cases registered by Mumbai Police. He is also declared as “Tadipar” by Police, for which he has been ordered to stay out of Mumbai Municipal limits.
This seizure highlights the committed effort of NCB in safeguarding public health and ensuring strict enforcement against the organised drug syndicates. The Narcotics Control Bureau reaffirms its commitment to disrupt drug trafficking and allied criminal activities to achieve the vision of Nasha Mukt Bharat by 2047.
To fight against drug trafficking, NCB seeks active support of the citizens. Any person can share information related to sale of narcotics by calling on MANAS- National Narcotics Helpline Toll Free Number – 1933. The identity of the informer is kept confidential.
Crime
Mumbai Crime: High-Tech CCTV Cameras Help Chembur Police Nab Burglar Red-Handed Inside Sarvodaya Estate House

Mumbai: High-tech security cameras installed in a house at Sarvodaya Estate, Chembur, helped police catch a burglar red-handed in the early hours of October 26. The accused has been identified as Nikhil Anil Kamble, a resident of Vashinaka. The Chembur police have registered a case and arrested him.
According to the FIR, Ravindra Kashinath Churi, 72, a retired employee of India Waterproofing Company, resides at Sarvodaya Estate with his wife Sushma, 66, and son Jay, 35. The family usually spends the day at their Sarvodaya Estate home but stays overnight at their residence in Ramkrishna Apartment, Postal Colony Road, Chembur.
For security, Churi had installed advanced CCTV cameras at his Sarvodaya Estate home. As usual, on the evening of October 25, around 6 p.m., the family locked the house and left for Ramkrishna Apartment. The next morning, at around 5:45 a.m., Jay received an alert on his mobile phone from the security system, indicating movement inside the house.
Upon checking the camera footage, Jay informed his parents that someone had broken into the house. Ravindra Churi and his son rushed to the spot and found the main door locked from both inside and outside. Upon inspection, they noticed that the kitchen window grill was partially broken and moved aside, confirming that a burglar was inside.
Jay immediately called the police helpline (100). Acting swiftly, a Chembur police team reached the scene and, with assistance from the fire brigade, broke open the door. Inside, they found Nikhil Kamble hiding and caught him red-handed.
Although no valuables were found in Kamble’s possession, the house was ransacked. The police took him into custody and registered an FIR under Sections 331(4) and 62 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Act, based on Ravindra Churi’s complaint, charging Kamble with breaking the window grill and attempting burglary.
The Chembur police are conducting further investigation into the case.
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