In another incident of vandalism against the places of worship of the Hindus in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, an idol of Lord Hanuman, placed in Shri Mari Mata Mandir in the Korangi area in Karachi was desecrated and the priest of the temple was also attacked. The incident occurred on June 8, Wednesday, in the temple located in the ‘J’ area, a short distance from Korangi Police Station. According to reports, 6-8 unknown people were behind the incident.
Video of the attack circulating on social media shows how the idol of the Hindu deity Hanuman was severely damaged and other religious things kept in the mandir were also destroyed.
Islamists attack Hindu priest in Korangi area of Karachi, Pakistan. The temple at his house and Moorties of Gods have been destroyed. Temple was under construction hence Moortis were brought home. No arrests have been made. No global condemnation yet. pic.twitter.com/wW7aNu1FxG
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 9, 2022
According to journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, the temple was under construction hence the priest had brought the idols home located next to the temple. The miscreants vandalised the temple, destroyed the idols kept in his house and also attacked the priest before fleeing. The police have not yet identified the people involved in the crime nor have made any arrests so far.
As per Twitter user @RaviDawani5 an FIR has been filed against unknown miscreants.
FIR has been launched again attacked on Shree Hanuman temple at Korangi Karachi pic.twitter.com/L3EdrqGsMX
— Ravi Dawani (@RaviDawani5) June 8, 2022
Sanjeev, a local Hindu resident told the media that six to eight people on motorcycles came into the area and attacked the temple.
“Five to six unknown suspects entered the temple and escaped after vandalising it,” Korangi SHO Farooq Sanjrani confirmed. He added that the case was being registered against the unknown suspects.
According to the Express Tribune, the incident sparked panic and fear among Karachi’s Hindu minority, especially those in the Korangi area. Police forces have been deployed in Korangi to prevent escalation.
Minority Hindus and their places of worship have always been on the radar of Islamists in Pakistan. Besides innumerable incidents of forced conversion, rape, child marriage, and suppression, several places of worship of Hindus have also come under attack in Islamic Pakistan.
In February 2022, OpIndia reported about a Hindu temple in Rohri, Sindh Province that was looted and vandalized by religious extremists. They also looted the cash and gold at the Shiran Wali Mata Hindu temple and destroyed 5 idols of Hindu deities. CCTV footage of the desecration and robbery had then gone viral on social media.
Earlier on January 27, Pakistani authorities had razed to ground the under construction Hinglaj Mata Mandir in the Tharparker district of Sindh province. Also, in the year 2020, during Navratri, the unidentified miscreants had damaged the head of the idol of Hinglaj Mata, besides smashing the face of Her Vaahan.
Last year, OpIndia wrote about the 7 Hindu temples that were vandalized and destroyed by Islamists since 2020.
