Fatehpur mausoleum row: SP expels Pappu Chauhan for ‘anti-party activities’; hoisted saffron flags | India News

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party leader from Fatehpur, Pappu Singh Chauhan, was expelled from the party on Tuesday for being involved in “anti-party” activities.This came a day after an FIR was lodged against Chauhan and several other individuals for attempting to vandalize a 200-year-old mausoleum in Fatehpur. Members of Hindu right-wing outfits created a ruckus at a mausoleum in Fatehpur district on Monday, claiming it to be a temple site where they had the right to pray.The FIR says that a group of approximately 160 individuals, led by one Abhishek Shukla and several others, attempted to vandalize the 200-year-old mausoleum.Police have named in the FIR Dharmendra Singh (Bajrang Dal), Abhishek Shukla (BJP), Ajay Singh (District Panchayat Member), Devnath Dhakad (BJP), Vinay Tiwari (Municipal Councillor), Pushpraj Patel, Rithik Pal (BJP), Prasoon Tiwari (BJP), and Pappu Chauhan (Samajwadi Party), news agency PTI reported.“The incident took place at the Mangi Maqbara in Abunagar, where the group, armed with flags, sticks and rods, sought to damage the site, claiming it to be a temple. The protest was organised by the Math Mandir Sanrakshan Sangharsh Samiti, which had called for a march to the site, demanding it be recognised as a Thakur Dwara temple. In response, local authorities had deployed a significant police presence, including officers from various police stations across the district, to maintain law and order,” it says.