On Monday, April 11, local Hindu worshippers caught a youth red-handed vandalizing an idol of a deity placed in a Shiv temple in the Titawi village in Baghara Block in Muzaffarnagar District of Uttar Pradesh. The accused has been identified as Yakub, the son of Azgar. Angry locals caught hold of Yakub, who was trying to flee after vandalizing the idol, and handed him over to the police. The police have taken Yakub into custody and started an investigation into the case.
Newsroompost took to Twitter to share a video of the same incident, wherein a part of the broken idol can be seen thrown on the floor of the temple. A broken board with Goddess Kali mantras written on it can also be seen in the video.
यूपी: मुज़फ्फरनगर में एक समुदाय द्वारा मंदिर में की गई तोड़फोड़, प्रतिमाएं खंडित, तोड़फोड़ कर रहे एक शख्स को लोगों ने दबोचा..मौके पर पुलिस अधिकारी भी मौजूद pic.twitter.com/dAPvcldgfR
— Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) April 11, 2022
The accused can be seen surrounded by the locals and the policemen, who reportedly reached the spot after the news of the incident spread. Several locals also gathered in the temple and protested against the attack on their temple. Handing over Yakub to the police, they demanded a fair and speedy probe in the case.
OpIndia spoke to the Titawi police station in-charge, Mukesh Solanki, who confirmed that the accused Yakub had vandalized an idol placed inside the temple premises. He, however, said that apart from the idol, no other part of the property had been damaged. SO Mukesh Solanki further added that the police have arrested the accused and would be interrogating him shortly. The SO refused to divulge any further details, except that the police will make sure that a fair and prompt probe is carried out in the case, as demanded by the devotees.
The incident comes to light amidst a wave of attacks on Hindu religious festivals. From Rajasthan to Karnataka, Gujarat to Bengal, Hindus faced violent attacks and stone-pelting while carrying out their religious processions.
Apart from specific targeting of Hindu processions, OpIndia had also reported how a Hindu temple was vandalized with idols of deities shattered into pieces in Jammu. As per accounts, the god and goddess idols were vandalized and shattered into pieces. The incident occurred late Friday evening in Jammu’s Sidhra sector, but villagers learned about it on Saturday morning, triggering a heavy police presence in the area.
