Six persons have been arrested in connection with the vandalism of a Chhath Puja ghat in Purnia on 7th November. Baisi police in Purnia district arrested 6 persons including 5 minors for the vandalism that took place at the Chhath Puja ghat in Mala village in Bihar’s Seemanchal region on Thursday.
A total of 6 persons have been booked in the case. One arrested accused has been identified as Tajimul, while the rest 5 are minors so their identities have not been disclosed. Baisi SDPO Aditya Kumar said that based on the complaints of the villagers, a case has been registered against them.
The incident took place on Thursday late night, where the entire ghat prepared for Chhath puja was vandalised by the miscreants. Videos of the incident showed puja items scattered across the ground after the vandalism, with some puja items thrown into water.
BIG BREAKING: Radical Islamists launched a deadly attack on Chhath Ghats, a sacred site for the Hindu festival in Purnea, Bihar
— Ashwini Shrivastava (@AshwiniSahaya) November 7, 2024
Radical Islamists vandalised several worship areas!
Locals allege that authorities remain silent & have taken no action.
This incident occurred in… pic.twitter.com/rN6YFzCq1F
Locals said that after worshippers left the ghat after offering Arghya Puja to the setting sun on Thursday evening, some Muslims arrived late in the night and vandalised the puja ghat. They removed the banana plants used for the puja, broke the banana leaves, and threw away the flowers and other puja items. This led to massive anger among Hindus, who gathered at the ghat and launched a protest.
A police team reached the spot soon after getting information of the incident. Purnia DM Kundan Kumar and SP Kartikeya Sharma talked to the angry devotees and managed to calm them down.
The police also helped the villagers in redecorating the ghat for puja, and the Chhath Puja continued normally on Friday amid tight security. At present the situation in the area is calm.
Acting promptly, police identified 6 persons for the vandalism, and arrested them. The one adult among them is 45 year old Tajimul, while the rest 5 are minors.
कल दिनांक 07.11.2024 को बायसी थानान्तर्गत माला गांव में छठ घाट को नुकसान पहुंचाने वाले असमाजिक तत्त्वों को चिन्हित कर गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया है तथा घाट पर शांतिपूर्ण तरीके से छठ पर्व मनाया जा रहा हैं। @bihar_police @IPRDBihar @BiharHomeDept pic.twitter.com/mRwJpvLYGe
— Purnea Police (@PurneaSp) November 8, 2024
A statement issued by Purnia Police said, “Yesterday on 07.11.2024, the Chhath Ghat built on the river bank in Mala village under Baisi police station was damaged by some anti-social elements. In relation to this incident, as per the orders of the Superintendent of Police, the Baisi police station took immediate action and identified and arrested the anti-social elements who damaged the Chhath Ghat. Further action is being taken. The Chhath Ghat has been redecorated and Chhath festival is being celebrated peacefully.”
After it was revealed that an adult and 5 minor Muslims vandalised the Hindu religious place, Purnia MP Pappy Yadav said that the incident should not be linked to religion. He claimed that some minor children have done such a childish act, and it should be linked to religion or caste. He added that all the accused have been arrested, and there should not be any politics on it, referring to protests against the incident by some BJP leaders.
