Home India News Tension in Fatehpur Sikri after ‘mazar’ damaged

Tension in Fatehpur Sikri after ‘mazar’ damaged

By IANS,

Agra : Damage to the 700-year-old Hazrat Shah ki Bibi shrine near Fatehpur Sikri, the 16th century capital of Mughal emperor Akbar, saw irate residents block the Agra-Jaipur highway for several hours with tempers cooling down after a red-faced National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) agreed to rebuild it.

The shrine was damaged Sunday by NHAI workers who were widening the eight channel highway connecting the city of the Taj to the Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

Irate residents of Fatehpur Sikri blocked traffic on both side of the highway for several hours. Foreign tourists to the famed Mughal capital were amongst those held up.

The blockade was lifted late Sunday. District officials have filed a case of inciting religious hatred and insulting religious faith against an NHAI security officer, who had an altercation with some people in the crowd, and an engineer.

Parliamentarian from the area Raj Babbar also got into the act and contacted Lucknow. District authorities then decided to file a case against the NHAI officials. The NHAI has now agreed to rebuild the mazar at the site, officials said.