The police in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district detained three men from Delhi on Friday for allegedly trying to perform Hindu rituals at the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town, PTI reported.

Amid communal tensions in the district, heavy security had been deployed at the mosque ahead of Friday prayers.

“Three individuals arrived by a car and were taken into custody near the disputed site,” said Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Bishnoi. “They have been sent to the police station, and action will be taken against them for disturbing public order. They will also be warned not to enter Sambhal in the future.”

One of the detained men, Sanatan Singh, was quoted as saying by PTI: “We came to perform a havan and yagna [Hindu fire rituals] at the Vishnu Harihar temple, but the police arrested us. If namaz can be offered there, why can't we perform puja?”

The Shahi Jama Masjid is at the centre of a legal dispute, with Hindu litigants claiming that the mosque was built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babur on the site of a “centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki”.

On November 26, violence broke out in the district after Muslim groups objected to a court-ordered survey of the mosque. The violence left five people dead.