Parties who have illegally occupied a portion of the 7,741 sq m aramgah land that houses 25 graves in Rajkot are reportedly blocking trustee-secretary of the Rajkot Zarthosti Anjuman (RZA) Khushman Tamboli from access to the property. "Taara katka kari naakhsu (we will hack you to pieces),” he was threatened on May 26, 2019 when he went for an inspection, Tamboli told Parsiana on July 9. A first information report (FIR) has been filed.
(Above) destruction at Rajkot’s aramgah; (inset) fragments of
gravestones: seven of 25 graves allegedly have been dug open
In the 1960s, the RZA had given a portion of the land to security guards who built eight rooms for themselves on the property, stated Tamboli. A dispute is said to have arisen in the 1980s when the trust asked the families to vacate the land which has led to an ongoing legal battle. Dhiraj, Jagdish and Shani are members of the Pari family living there, and, according to Tamboli, they allegedly contacted one Aashiq Dalvani to help them grab the land. The quartet were arrested and released on bail for resorting to vandalism, "hurting religious sentiments and defiling the place of worship,” noted The Times of India (ToI) of July 5, 2019.
"Since May 26, 2019, (they) have dug open seven graves. They also hacked down a 100-year-old tree on the land. We also shot off a letter to the municipal commissioner seeking his intervention,” Tamboli was quoted in the ToI news report. He acknowledged guidance by Udvada High Priest and member of the National Commission for Minorities Dastur Khurshed Dastoor.
Police inspector B. M. Kataria was quoted in the news report that "the trust has to appoint new trustees to take legal action as per the law. Those living on the graveyard land claim that the land belongs to them, so we have also asked them to produce the relevant documents.” Tamboli says that the title deeds to the land stand in the name of the Zoroastrian Community of Rajkot.
About five public toilets have been illegally constructed just outside the boundary wall of the compound that houses the city’s 145-year-old Anjuman Daremeher (see "Rajkot regrets,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, March 7, 2019).