Saharanpur: Hindutva groups in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district have claimed that a Shiva Temple initially existed where the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband currently stands.

Right-wing organisation Hindu Raksha Dal held a protest at the district headquarters, where they submitted a memorandum demanding an investigation into the claims. The demonstrators said the area was the erstwhile Deo Van (Forest of the Gods), where gods gathered before the Muslim community built the Islamic seminary.

Videos circulating online show the Hindutva members chanting slogans such as “Deo Van mein Shiv mandir leke rahinge, leke rahinge (The Shivs temple in Deo Van, we will take it back, take it back).”

“Yeh Deoband nahi hai, yeh hamare shastr mein Deo Van hai. Mullo nai aakar ke jab is van ko band kiya toh uska naam Deoband bana diya (This is not Deoband. In our scriptures, it is Deo Van. When the mullahs arrived and closed off this forest, the name was changed to Deoband),” said one of the demonstrators.

HRD leader Lalit Sharma, who headed the protest, stated that a “buried Shiv temple” lies approximately 14 feet below the Darul Uloom Deoband campus and urged the authorities to conduct a “fair and transparent investigation.”

Sharma added that the organisation would pursue legal intervention for a court-ordered administrative inquiry. “We demand a scientific survey by the Archaeological Department and concerned authorities to ensure a transparent and impartial investigation,” he said.

The organisation claimed that it was a serious issue and required an inspection through technological and archaeological methods. The organisation has not yet submitted official evidence to confirm the allegations, nor have the authorities announced an investigation.