Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit to the monument, located in Aurangabad, has triggered a major faceoff between his party and other political parties in the state.
Amid massive controversy in Maharashtra over AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s recent visit to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in the state’s Aurangabad district, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which protects the monument, announced on Thursday it was being closed for five days.
Also Read | AIMIM stirs communal pot with Akbaruddin Owaisi’s Aurangzeb tomb visit
“Earlier, the mosque committee tried to lock the place but we opened it. On Wednesday, we took a decision to shut the tomb for the next five days. We will review the situation and then decide to open it or keep it closed for another five days,”, the ASI’s Aurangabad circle superintendent, Milan Prasad Chauley, told news agency PTI.
“The tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb will remain closed for five days to ensure that the law and order situation in the state does not get affected,” news agency ANI, too, reported the closure, quoting deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
Meanwhile, ASI’s action came after a mosque committee in Aurangabad’s Khultabad, where the structure is located, tried to lock it after a tweet by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader, Gajanan Kale, in which he questioned the need for the tomb’s existence and said it should be destroyed.
(With agency inputs)
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