Dhar: As Hindu outfits had been vociferously demanding reopening of the locks of Bhojshala-Kamal Moula, the district administration has recommended opening of the controversial site for tourists, as well as allowing 'pooja' and 'namaz' on specific days.

Talking to reporters on February 21, district collector Sanjay Dubey said the recommendation to allow 'puja' every Tuesday between 9 am and 11 am and 'namaz' every Friday from 1 pm to 3 pm, besides keeping it open for tourists all seven days of the week at a token entry fee, has been sent to Madhya Pradesh government.

The all party meeting called by the district administration on February 19 in this regard has expressed favour towards opening of disputed Bhojshala for the public, based on which the district administration has forwarded its recommendations to the state government, he said.

Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) tried to storm into the temple on February 19, demanding opening of the locks of Bhojshala, when they were stopped by police and around 150 activists were arrested.

'Sangh parivar' outfits have been indulging in large scale violence in Dhar for the past two days, forcing police to open fire, which has left one dead and scores of others injured, prompting authorities to clamp curfew in five towns.

Meanwhile, the district administration has decided not to permit Muslims to offer 'namaz' on February 21 at the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Moula mosque in view of the curfew in Dhar city since February 19 following large scale arson, Dubey told reporters.

He also said no untoward incident was reported from anywhere during curfew relaxation period in the morning for women.

The decision to further relax the curfew in the evening would be taken after reviewing the situation, he added.

So far, nearly 275 persons were arrested from different parts of the district for indulging in violence and attempting to forcibly enter the Bhojshala site on February 19, he said.

Nearly 22 policemen sustained injuries in the stone pelting incident in the district, while four persons suffered pellet injuries during the incident, he said.

Three persons were killed – one in police firing in Amjhera village and two persons belonging to minority community stabbed on February 20 in the district, he said.

The curfew in Rajgarh, Tanda, Digthan and Amjhera would be relaxed after reviewing the situation in the affected towns, he said adding that the situation there is tense but under control.

PTI