Temple Vandalism Triggers Communal Clash In MP Town, 47 Detained
A group of miscreants damaged the temple gate and vandalized the shrine late on Thursday evening when ‘aarti’ was being performed, police said.
Bhopal: Vandalism in the Goddess Durga temple in Sihora in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district by a group of miscreants triggered communal clashes in the town, police said on Friday.
A group of miscreants damaged the temple gate and vandalized the shrine late on Thursday evening when ‘aarti’ was being performed, police said.
Soon, several people gathered at the temple to confront the miscreants leading to the escalation of the situation.
The rival groups then started pelting stones at each other and indulged in vandalism in the local market by damaging shops and vehicles parked there, police said.
Reports said that ‘aarti’ performed in the temple and ‘azan’ played in the nearby mosque at the same time was the trigger for the communal tension.
The police had to fire teargas shells to bring the situation under control.
“Members of two communities clashed and indulged in vandalism. The police had to fire teargas shells to bring the situation under control”, Jabalpur district superintendent of police Sampat Upadhyay said.
Heavy police forces have been deployed in the town to maintain law and order.
Jabalpur district collector Raghavendra Singh said that normalcy has been restored in the town now.
State cooperation minister Visvas Sarang said that Madhya Pradesh is a peaceful state and any attempt to disturb harmony will be dealt with strongly.
He said that videos showing the incident showed that stones were being pelted from the mosque.
“No one has the right to take law into their hands in this manner. How the stones were collected at the mosque is a matter of investigation”, he said.
Police said that 47 people have been detained in connection with the incident.
