New Delhi: What was until recently the tomb of an unidentified person, became a white-and-saffron-painted Shiv Bhola temple in March, with idols placed inside it, according to an Indian Express report.

The changes to Gumti – a small, domed tomb in Safdarjung Enclave’s Humayunpur village – have come into the limelight now, but a 2017 image showing tiles of Hindu Gods on its four gateways suggests that the process has been going on for a while.

While it cannot be said for certain who was buried here or who built the structure, according to the daily, the architecture – pointed tip of the dome and absence of mihrab (a semi-circular niche in the wall) – is indicative of a timeline going back to either late-Tughlaq or early-Lodi period.

The changes to the state-notified monument, which is built on a mound, have been made in violation of the Citizen Charter of the Department of Archaeology, which clearly states that one “cannot paint, draw or whitewash any wall in and around the monument” and “cannot hamper or spoil the originality of the monument”.

In 2010, Gumti was notified as one of the 767 heritage sites, and received a grade-I listing, Indian Express reported. Four years later, in 2014, the Archaeology department notified it again as a heritage site.

The deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has claimed not to have any “information about this” and said that he shall ask the concerned department for an inquiry into matter.

The collaborative restoration work of the 15th-century monument – by the Delhi Chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Archaeology department – was scheduled for last year.

According to Ajay Kumar, projects director of INTACH-Delhi, the tomb was “a locked monument” and restoration work was delayed due to “resistance from residents.”

“We went with police but it didn’t work out. Now it’s become a temple and we’ve lost the monument,” Kumar told Indian Express.

Labeling the matter a “land grab issue,” the INTACH-Delhi convener Swapna Liddle said: “We are not gatekeepers of the monument, we restore them. The protection has to be done by the state and then it should be handed over to us.”

While the name of Radhika Abrol Phogat can be found on two saffron-coloured benches placed in the complex, the BJP councillor from Safdarjung Enclave has denied knowledge of the matter. “The structure was turned into a temple without my knowledge, consent or support,” Phogat told Indian Express. “It was done with the connivance of the previous BJP councillor. I objected too, but it’s a sensitive issue. With whatever that is going on in the country, one can’t touch a temple. The benches with my name were initially in the park.”