Saharanpur, May 22 -- 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 ...