Kolhapur royal family scion named in FIR for action against ‘encroachers’ at Vishalgad fort

A month ago, former Independent Rajya Sabha MP and erstwhile Kolhapur royal family scion Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati launched a campaign demanding an “encroachment-free Vishalgad” in Maharashtra.

In July 1660, a cannon was fired thrice from the Vishalgad fort in Kolhapur district to signal to Maratha forces battling the Bijapur sultanate's army that Chhatrapati Shivaji had entered the fort safely. Since then, Vishalgad, like other 'Shiv kaleen' (the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji) forts, has served as a memorial, tourist attraction, and a source of livelihood for countless locals.

On 14 July, Sambhajiraje's supporters, who call themselves 'Shiv bhakts' gathered and then marched to remove 'encroachments' that allegedly harm the sanctity of the fort.

Before the Shiv bhakts reached the fort, violence broke out in nearby villages, one of the worst-hit being Gajapur village around 3 km from the base of the fort. At about 9.40 am, a large mob screaming ‘jai Bhavani’, ‘jai Shivaji’ and ‘jai Shri Ram’ entered Gajapur and reportedly ransacked property belonging to Muslim families. Residents say they have no link to the alleged encroachments at the fort.

A village mosque was attacked. A video, which shows four to five men climbing atop the mosque and apparently trying to damage its qubba (dome) has gone viral. “Around 50-60 men entered the mosque and damaged the structure internally,” said one of the mosque's caretakers.

Villagers claim the incident broke out unprovoked. “As the mob got closer to the village, we sensed things could go wrong. We simply left everything behind, locked our houses, and fled,” says a 45-year-old Muslim woman whose house was ransacked.

When she, her husband and teenage daughter returned in the evening, she says, they couldn’t recognise their own house. “The anger of the mob could be seen on each wall. They were armed with axes,” the Wire quoted her as saying.

“We have nothing to do with the campaign against the encroachment at Vishalgad. In fact, the campaign to clear up the fort is many years old. The villagers here have lived peacefully all along. And suddenly people come here and begin to attack us,” a college student said.

In Gajapur, only a few houses belong to the Muslim community. Villagers say life here has always been peaceful, while the victims claim that no one from Gajapur participated in the violence. A house was torched and several vehicles were destroyed, but the villagers claim that the police were neither present nor equipped to handle the volatile situation.

The police subsequently arrested 21 people, and Sambhajiraje, who had called for the march which seemingly triggered the violence, has also been named in an FIR.

Sambhajiraje reached the fort after the stone-pelting, and announced that he would not leave until the encroachments were removed. He claimed there were 158 encroachments, of which only six were under litigation. “Why is no action being taken against the rest?” he asked.

The former MP has long campaigned against alleged encroachment in Maharashtra's forts. In December 2022, when the state government had issued demolition notices under section 21 (2) of the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Remains Act 1960, a few residents had approached Bombay High Court.

In all, seven structures in Vishalgad are now protected from demolition by a high court stay order, but these belong to both Muslims and Hindus. The issue of encroachments at Vishalgad fort, in the form of shops, hotels and private residences, has been raging for a few years. The most contentious structures are those around the Malik Rehan Dargah, about a kilometre from the fort.

The Mahayuti government of the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP sanctioned Rs 1.17 crore to clear the illegal structures at the fort and in December 2023, claimed that it had managed to remove encroachments at the fort's base.

On 16 July, chief minister Eknath Shinde visited Vishalgad and met the local administration, including the collector and police officials. The administration has issued prohibitory orders until 29 July to keep the situation under control.

Sambhajiraje said there was no communal angle to what happened on 14 July. “We want to remove all encroachments, including those by Hindus and Muslims. I know what secularism is and nobody needs to teach me that,” he said.