Illegal portions of Indore temple where 36 died razed

Bhopal:

Indore city administration on Monday demolished the illegally constructed portions of the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple, where 36 people died after a covered stepwell caved in last week, officials said.

The demolitions at the temple in Patel Nagar was carried out almost a year after a notice was issued to temple authorities for illegal construction on April 23, 2022. Another notice was issued in January.

“After removing the idols, the illegally constructed walls and a tin shed were demolished,” a municipality official said, declining to be named. “The administration used poclain machines to demolish the illegal structures.”

Police booked Sewaram Galani, president of Shri Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple Trust, and Murali Sabnani, its secretary, for causing death by negligence. “No arrest has been made so far,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity. Galani has been absconding since the incident on March 30, while Sabnani, who was injured after falling into the step well, is undergoing treatment.

The temple trustees refused to comment.

“We were continuously serving notices to the trustees,” the municipality official said. “We couldn’t take any action under political pressure and apprehension of creating religious tension.”

Around 54 people were present in the temple on March 30 to perform rituals on the occasion of Ram Navami. When they stood up for the aarti, the roof of the stepwell, which was constructed by placing stone slabs and iron pillars without any support, caved in. In the rescue operation, which lasted 25 hours, 18 people were rescued safely, while 36 dead bodies were recovered.

The Indore administration had issued notices to three temples and an Islamic shrine (mazar) on Sunday before the demolition. “The illegally constructed religious places are being identified and action will be taken against all,” said Indore district collector Ilayaraja T.

Authorities also removed illegally constructed structures and encroachments from other religious places, including a mazar at Dhakkan Wala Kuan, a temple at Sukhaliya, and a wall of a temple at Gadra Khedi.

“The stepwell buried under the footpath at Gadra Khedi near Indore 15th Battalion was freed of encroachments. A footpath was constructed over it and the wall of the Khatu Shyam temple was built. A shop was built by constructing a tin shed,” said Abhay Bedekar, additional district magistrate, Indore.

Additional police personnel were deployed during the demolition drive to maintain law and order, Bedekar said.

“Some people opposed the demolition of the temple, but we called extra police force. The police resorted to mild force to disperse Bajrang Dal workers gathered at the temple. Now, police force has been deployed near the temple,” Bedekar added.

The Bajrang Dal, led by local leader Tanu Sharma, staged a protest against the demolition. “They are demolishing the temple to hide their mistake. There are hundreds of illegally constructed mosques and mazars in Indore, but the administration is targeting only temples,” Sharma claimed. “They illegally took the idol of temples with them.”

Indore mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, however, said the municipal corporation took the action according to law.

“We have identified all the stepwells and religious places that were constructed illegally and are a threat for common people’s lives,” Bhargava said. “The municipal corporation officials are not under pressure. They are working according to law.”