'If You Have Guts...": Bhojshala Cop's Friday Warning Goes Viral

A week after Madhya High Court declared Bhojshala complex in the Dhar district a temple, the administration has heightened security at the complex where namaz was allowed till last Friday. In its ruling on the decades-old "mosque or temple" dispute, the court declared the complex a temple and paved the way for the puja by the Hindus.

Now, on the first Friday since the ruling, the district administration is not taking any chances. Amid the apprehensions over attempts by some groups to offer the Friday prayers at the complex, a video of Dhar Superintendent of Police has gone viral. In the video, the SP, Sachin Sharma, is seen sternly warning the troublemakers.

Standing on a jeep, Sharma is seen warning anyone who may try to disturb peace. "Anyone who has the courage or believes they can challenge the law should try tomorrow (Friday). We are fully prepared, and strict action will be taken against them," Sharma says in the viral video.

He further states that law and order will be upheld at any cost and that no one should try to spread rumours or distorted versions of the court order on social media. The police officer is seen ending his speech with "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" slogan with the crowd joining in and cheering him.

Since 2003, the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) had allowed puja on Tuesdays and namaz on Friday at the Bhojshala complex. The Hindu groups had challenged the ASI order and on May 15, after a prolonged legal case, the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled in the favour of Hindus declaring the disputed complex a temple and allowing puja by Hindus.

The Muslim side on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order, which said the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district of the state was a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.

The high court bench ruling on the case had also said that the Muslim community may approach the Madhya Pradesh government for the allotment of separate land in the district for the construction of a mosque.