COIMBATORE: A dispute over a cemetery near a mosque at Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district flared up on Monday after a right-wing outfit intervened during a burial.
Furore erupted after officials allegedly stopped a few Muslims from burying a body in the cemetery on the Waqf Board land near the Karamadai mosque.
Muslims have been burying the bodies of their loved ones here for years. But people proceeding towards a nearby Hindu temple often cross through the mosque’s burial land, leading to frequent disputes regarding the usage of the property.
On Monday, while the mourners arrived to bury a body, a few members of the Hindu Munnani outfit opposed and filed a complaint with the revenue officials.
The Mettupalayam tahsildar stopped the burial, forcing the Muslims to commence a protest with the body. The relatives of the deceased alleged those who opposed the burial were pressured by the Sangh Parivar and Hindu Munnani.
Later, the DSP, Karamadai police sub inspector, tahsildar and other officials held talks with both groups and pacified them. The land documents on the cemetery were shown to the officials by the mosque authorities. Upon realising that the land belongs to the Waqf Board, the officials allowed the people to bury the body.