Hindu burial in 'Muslim graveyard' sparks protests in Badin

The burial infuriated the Muslim community of the town and its adjoining areas, who gathered in the town and staged a sit-in on the Bago Canal bridge. — Photo courtesy of Hanif Samoon

BADIN: The situation in Tando Bago town of Badin district became tense following the burial of a 75-year-old Hindu man, in a local graveyard of Bachal Shah.

Late on Wednesday night, a few people of the town dug the grave and took out the body of the resident of village Yar Mohammad Lund, some four kilometres off the Tando Bago town. The body was buried by his relatives on Monday.

But the body was reburied in the same place by the local police on the wee hours of Thursday, following which the clerics belonging to various mosques of the town made announcements that a Hindu was buried again in their graveyard.

The burial infuriated the Muslim community of the town and its adjoining areas, who gathered in the town and staged a sit-in on the Bago Canal bridge.

Speaking to media persons the protesters threatened to dig out the body from the grave again.

The protesters further claimed that a decision had been reached nearly four years ago according to which Hindus would not bury their deceased in the same part of the graveyard.

It is pertinent to mention that this graveyard had been shared since many years by both the Hindus and Muslims of the area.

There was only a small wall erected by a former taluka Nazim of Tando Bago to separate the parts of the graveyard.

Strict security measures were taken by Badin's district administration to control the law and order situation in the town.

Heavy contingents of the police have been deployed in and around the graveyard under the supervision of DSP Tando Bago.

The relatives of the Hindu man, who was buried in the graveyard, spoke to Dawn.com and claimed that the deceased was buried near the grave of his father.

The people of various rights groups voiced their concern over the issue and demanded that the government functionaries should take security measures for the minority communities.

On Oct 6, in a similar incident the body of another Hindu man was dug out of the grave and thrown away, in a local graveyard of Haji Fakir in Pangrio town of Badin district.