PATNA: Tension simmered in Sanhaula of Bhagalpur district, after a man partially vandalised murtis of many Hindu deities placed inside a local temple near Sanhaula police station limits, triggering a massive outrage among the local Hindu community on Sunday, October 20.
A major protest erupted in the locality after the temple priest informed the locals about the partial damaged caused to the murtis of Maa Durga, Bhagwan Ram, Mata Sita and Radhe-Krishna in the wee hours of Sunday. The news spread quickly in the locality, prompting a major protest by the Hindu community.
As many as six murtis placed in the temple premises were reported to be damaged during the act, angering the local Hindus who soon gathered near the nearby police station, demanding immediate arrest of the accused involved in the crime.
The agitated crowd blocked the highway connecting Sanhaula to Jharkhand borders by burning tyres leading to a halt on traffic for at least three hours. The locals further resorted to stone pelting and staged an aggressive demonstration against the police and administration.
Bhagalpur, Bihar: A ruckus took place in Sanhaula market near the Jharkhand border due to the damaging of idols of the Ram Mandir. Locals protested by blocking the road, and police were present at the scene to manage the situation pic.twitter.com/mu2ARiNWmV
— IANS (@ians_india) October 20, 2024
The protest alerted the authorities, who swiftly deployed a large number of security personnel to contain the escalating situation while apprehending a person identified as Md. Shahbaz, a resident of Sanhaula. The arrested accused Shahbaz is said to be mentally unfit and was the only one behind carrying out the provocative act..
Refuting the speculation raised by a few of the social media handles over involvement of more people in the incident, given the amount of damaged caused to the murtis, the police in a statement later clarified, that after analyzing the CCTV footage it appears that the incident was carried out by only one person which has also been testified by eyewitnesses.
“A few idols were partially damaged in a temple located near the pond under Sanhaula police station limits on yesterday night. The man who vandalized the idols was arrested after lodging a case under relevant sections,” said the police in an official statement.
सन्हौला थाना अंतर्गत मूर्ति खंडित करने वाला युवक गिरफ्तार ।@bihar_police #BhagalpurPolice #BiharPolice #HainTaiyarHum #silkcitybhagalpur #BhagalpurPolice pic.twitter.com/7IMb5dcEl3
— Bhagalpur Police (@PoliceBhagalpur) October 20, 2024
A meeting of the peace committee has been held and Superintendent of Police (SP) Town and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Kahalgaon have conducted a flag march with the personnel in Sanhaula and nearby areas. The situation is under control and the law and order status is normal at the moment, it added.
The police and the administration have further appealed the public not to pay heed to rumors and to maintain peace.
Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, Union Minister for Textiles, Giriraj Singh has alleged that the act was carried out by a few people associated with RJD and Congress as he is taking out a Yatra (march).
“Some people damaged the temple and the idol in Sanhaula, Bhagalpur at 5 am. I have come to know from sources that RJD and Congress people are behind this. They want to create riots to make it appear that it happened after Giriraj Singh’s yatra, said the minister.
पूर्णिया: केंद्रीय मंत्री गिरिराज सिंह ने कहा, “भागलपुर के सन्हौला में सुबह 5 बजे कुछ लोगों ने मंदिर और मूर्ति को नुकसान पहुंचाया है। सूत्रों से मुझे मालूम हुआ है कि इसके पीछे RJD और कांग्रेस के लोग हैं। वो दंगा कराना चाहते हैं। ये गिरिराज सिंह के यात्रा के उपरांत हुआ है, मैं… pic.twitter.com/HItlvC7kg5
— BHARAT UPDATE (@bharatupdate_) October 20, 2024
I tell the administration that RJD and Congress have a hand in this. I have been repeating it continuously that Rahul Gandhi has given permission to create riots in the entire country, this is not a small incident, he alleged.
Notably, the Union Minister commenced his “Hindu Swabhiman Yatra” on October 18 from Bhagalpur which is set to traverse from several districts of Seemanchal region of Bihar before reaching Kishanganj on October 22.
