Three Women Booked For Offering Namaz At Pune’s Shaniwar Wada; NCP, BJP Trade Barbs
Three Women Booked For Offering Namaz At Pune’s Shaniwar Wada; NCP, BJP Trade Barbs
M.U.H
21/10/202519
A case has been registered against three unidentified women after a video showing them offering namaz on the premises of Pune’s historic Shaniwar Wada fort went viral.
The FIR has been filed under provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Rules, 1959, for allegedly violating restrictions applicable to protected monuments.
The incident has sparked a political controversy, with ruling alliance partners in Maharashtra divided over the issue. The Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) accused BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol and local MLA Siddharth Shirole’s aide Kulkarni of attempting to communalise the matter by trying to “purify" the area and demanded that a case be filed against Kulkarni instead.
The incident reportedly occurred around 1:45 pm on Saturday, after which an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officer filed a formal complaint with Pune City Police.
The viral video sparked protests on Sunday by BJP MP Medha Kulkarni and members of a local right-wing organisation, who also performed purification rituals at the spot where the namaz was offered. Police have since increased security around the Shaniwar Wada premises.
