DADU: Notices have been issued to eight influential persons and others, asking them to vacate land of an old Hindu temple in Johi town, according to Dadu Assistant Commissioner Nazeer Ahmed Soomro.

He said that the people had been asked to vacate the temple area, otherwise they would be punished according to law.

The officer, who visited the occupied temple in Johi town along with Dadu Hindu Panchayat leader Gurmukh Das and two social activists on Wednesday, said that people of eight communities had completely occupied the temple constructed before the partition of India.

He said the temple land had changed hands many times through a simple paper. The claimants had been directed to visit his office on Thursday morning to produce their records if they had any.

Gurmukh Das informed the assistant commissioner that the temple had been occupied completely.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2019