Watch: Puja, aarti at Taj Mahal premises, case registered after viral videos

Three people performed puja, aarti and jal abhishek towards the Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh on the third Monday of Sawan, with Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha members claiming responsibility.Three people performed puja, aarti and jal abhishek towards the Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh.Three people performed puja, aarti, jal abhishek and prayers towards the Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh in Agra on the third Monday of Sawan. The members of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha have claimed responsibility for the actions.Two videos of the incident later went viral on social media. One video is 54 seconds long and the other is 12 seconds long. The videos show the Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh, with three people appearing to perform puja and aarti towards the monument.Ajju Chauhan, national vice-president of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha in Agra, claimed that the organisation has maintained from the beginning that the Taj Mahal is a Shiva temple. He said an aarti was performed and milk was offered to Lord Bholenath, whom he claimed is present inside the Taj Mahal, on the occasion of the third Monday of Sawan.Manish Pandit of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha in Agra said that on the third Monday of Shravan, they performed jal abhishek, aarti and prayers for Tejo Mahalaya Baba from Mehtab Bagh. The videos subsequently came to the attention of the police through social media on August 17, 2026. Following this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) filed a complaint.In its complaint, the ASI's senior conservation assistant said the video showed a religious activity in violation of rules applicable to the protected monument. The ASI sought an investigation and necessary administrative and legal action against those involved. Police registered an FIR at 11 pm on August 17, naming unidentified people as accused. Inspector Rajveer Singh has been assigned to investigate the case.The case was registered under Section 30(1) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 67 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008.Police are now examining the viral videos and related digital evidence to identify the people involved and establish what activity took place at the location.- EndsPublished By: Akshat TrivediPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 11:40 IST