Beeru (Budgam) July 15: A three hundred year old Sufi Shrine of Baba Haneefudin (RA) was gutted in a fire incident at Rathsun here in central Kashmir last night.
 The Sufi Shrine of Baba Haneefudin (RA) locally called Baba Saben Dahresh, located on a hill lock near, caught fire under mysterious circumstances. 
 “This shrine was gutted in 2002, however that time the holy relics were saved. This time around these could not be saved. Relics included Ada Sharief of Baba Haneefuddin Reshi and very old copies of holy Quran,” locals said.
 As the word about the fire spread men, women and children came out on streets to mourn the incident.
 "Water tanks empty were empty that is why we couldn’t do anything to save the shrine till fire tenders reached,” said Zahoor Ahmad Wani a local.
  Beeru and other adjoining areas observed a spontaneous shutdown on Sunday and normal life was thrown out of gear. Shops and business establishments remained closed while traffic went off the roads.
 Locals said that many fire incidents have taken place in the area during last couple of weeks and many cow sheds and granaries (Kothars) have been destroyed due to such fire incidents.
 This is the second shrine to be destroyed in a fire incident within 20 days. On June 25, the shrine of Dastageer Sahib (RA) in Khanyar was destroyed in a mysterious fire incident.
SHO SPEAKS
 Station House Officer (SHO) Beeru Muhammad Akbar while talking to Greater Kashmir said the night patrol party of Beeru police noticed the fire from a distance as the Shrine is located on top of a hillock. “We send the police team and the Fire Brigade at midnight but till the police party and fire brigade reached the spot the whole wooden structure was completely destroyed. Nobody among the Mutawalis was sleeping in the shrine premises. We have registered an FIR No. 76/2012 under section 436 RPC in Police Station Beeru,” the SHO added.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 15 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 15 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST