Unidentified persons light torches to film reel in protected Maharashtra monument; FIR lodged

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Feb 26 (PTI) Police have registered a case against five unidentified persons for allegedly endangering a protected monument in Maharashtra's Jalgaon by lighting torches and using flammable substances to film reels inside the premises, officials said on Thursday.

The action followed videos that surfaced on social media, purportedly showing a group of five to six unidentified individuals filming inside the Maheshwar Temple at Patnadevi, a site protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, they said.

The clips, uploaded in late December last year, show a woman performing a ritual near the 'Shivling', while others with covered faces ring temple bells.

A behind-the-scenes video (of making the reel) shows the group tying cloth to pipes and using flammable liquid to light four to five torches (mashal) within the temple premises, including the sanctum sanctorum, an official from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said.

When the ASI staff inspected the monument, black spots (due to smoke) and burn damage were found on the temple floor and pillars, a police official said.

Based on a complaint by an ASI employee, the Chalisgaon rural police registered an FIR on February 17 against five unidentified persons using several Instagram accounts on charges of damaging and misusing the monument, he said.

"We have written a letter to the social media platform seeking the related profile information," the official told PTI.

The temple is part of the protected Patnadvi and Maheshwar temple complex, known for its Hemadpanthi style of architecture, which uses star-shaped ground plans, intricate stone carving and dry masonry (construction without mortar), using interlocking black basalt stone slabs. PTI AW GK