Lucknow: An incident of alleged harassment was reported near the shrine of Sufi saint Haji Waris Ali Shah in Deva, Barabanki, after a man accused a prasad vendor of abusing him and forcibly wiping off the ‘tilak’ from his forehead.Police took the accused into custody and initiated an inquiry, while the Dargah management strongly condemned the incident. According to the complaint, Harish Sharma, a resident of Dussehra Bagh, Patel Nagar in Barabanki, visited the Deva Sharif Dargah along with a Muslim woman from his neighbourhood, whom he considers a relative. While the woman went inside the shrine to offer prayers, Sharma remained standing outside. Sharma alleged that a vendor selling ‘sinni’ and ‘chadar’ outside the shrine called out to him using a derogatory religious slur and objected to the ‘tilak’ on his forehead. The vendor allegedly hurled abuses, assaulted him, and then forcibly washed off the ‘tilak’ using water. When Sharma protested, the accused reportedly continued abusing him and issued threats. The accompanying woman also objected to the act, following which the vendor allegedly misbehaved with her as well, the complaint stated. Confirming the development, Deva police station in-charge inspector Dharmendra Kumar Singh said that a complaint was received in the matter. “CCTV footage from the area is being examined, and the accused, identified as Javed Warsi, was taken into custody for questioning. Further legal action will be taken based on the findings,” he said. Meanwhile, the Dargah management strongly denounced the incident. Dargah Trust manager Saad Mahmood Warsi said that any act of religious or communal discrimination near the shrine was unacceptable.
