New Delhi – A court has
served a Hindu god with a summons for illegally encroaching on
government land in eastern India after a roadside temple was built in
his honour, officials said Thursday.
Photos in local media showed the
summons, addressed to Lord Hanuman, pasted on an idol of the monkey god,
worshipped for his courage and strength, at the temple in Bihar state.
“The summons was issued after the public
works department filed a case against the temple for encroaching on the
road,” a court official in Rohtas district, who refused to be named,
told AFP.
The department petitioned the local magistrate’s court to have the
temple removed for obstructing traffic, but local Hindu groups have
protested against the legal action.
A local official in Rohtas said the summons had been erroneously addressed to the Hindu god, and would be soon corrected.
“The summons was meant for the temple
management and not the god,” Hashim Khan, Rohtas deputy development
commissioner, told AFP.
Encroachment of public land is rampant
in India, including by religious groups who construct temples, shrines
and other places of worship on public walkways, roads and vacant land.
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