Mild tension prevailed at the historic Shaikpet Mosque situated close to the Golconda fort, after unidentified miscreants allegedly placed an idol of Lord Shiva, inside the structure on Tuesday morning.
The incident came to light after a few local youth found the idol and immediately informed the police.
Senior officials from the Golconda police station then rushed to the spot, even as Karwan MLA Kausar Mohiuddin was also notified of the incident.
While the police said that they had posted a picket at the spot to ensure communal harmony, a police official removed the idol placed inside the masjid.
"We are putting in our best efforts to take complete control of the Masjid by raising the compound wall and securing boundaries. I have also spoken to officials of the Wakf Board and urged them to construct a boundary wall. Officials assured me that they will start the work in two to three days," the Karwan MLA said.
“The religious structure is not being used now. We reached the spot immediately and took the situation under control. No untoward incident was reported. We are verifying the miscreants behind the act,” the police was quoted as saying.
The Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) has demanded strict action against the culprits and demanded that the police must make the CCTV footage of the incident public.
According to the FIR, the accused have been identified as Beer Singh, Yogender Singh, Kirpal Singh, Naveen Singh and Maya Bai. The police said that they “trespassed into the said Wakf institution and put religious idols in the mosque and tried to start doing a puja with malafide intention to grab the property.”
A case has been registered under Sections 447 (Punishment for criminal trespass) and 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Shaikpet mosque was built in the 17th century during the Qutb Shahi period and is a protected monument under the Andhra Pradesh Ancient Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960.