The Basant Panchami passed off peacefully at Bhojshala in Dhar on Friday, with both the communities worshipping at the disputed site. It is being considered a success of the State Government and feather in the cap of in-charge Minister Narottam Mishra, who was camping in the town for over a week.
Communal tension was witnessed in the town for the past few days with some Hindu groups demanding that Muslims be barred from offering namaz at the site on Basant Panchami day which fell on Friday.
Normally, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which maintains the historic structure, allows Hindus to pray at the shrine on all Tuesdays and Muslims on all Fridays. But this year the Basant Panchami day happened to be on a Friday, a rare coincidence.
The administration had deployed a large number of security personnel as Hindu devotees offered prayers inside the shrine in the morning.
Devotees also queued up for a puja and havan - outside the shrine - conducted by the Bhoj Utsav Samiti along with the Dharm Jagaran Vibhag, an outfit of the RSS.
Even as Hindu devotees offered puja and performed 'havan' outside the Bhojsala police escorted a group of 25 Muslims through a rear gate. After they offered prayers on the roof of the Bhojshala, they were escorted out of the complex, Divisional Commissioner Sanjay Dubey and additional director-general of police Vipin Maheshwari said in a formal announcement.
The administration said more than 1,500 devotees offered prayers at the Bhojshala since the morning.
Earlier in the morning, a seer from Varanasi, Swami Narendranath Saraswati, staged dharna outside the Bhojshala demanding that only puja should be allowed inside.
The Samiti, which is controlled by hardline Hindus had announced that they won't be going inside the Bhojshala if namaz is allowed. The samiti announced in the afternoon that devotees will enter the Bhojshala since the namaz was over.
There was also a dispute between the samiti and administration over security personnel wearing boots inside the temple. Samiti general secretary Hemant Doraya said that they were holding the havan outside because of presence of security personnel wearing boots.
The Samiti held a 35,000-strong rally on Monday and mobilised devotees across the Malwa-Nimar region. With tension mounting, the rest of the town appeared to shut itself up with all shops and business establishments remaining closed since the morning.