Several temple idols have been found to be demolished and vandalised in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. A clay statue of Goddess Sita was destroyed in the Sitarama Mandir located in Vijayawada. A case has been registered over this incident and investigation by the Andhra police is underway. Several party leaders, especially that of the TDP and BJP rushed to the spot and vehemently protested asking for the vandals to be prosecuted.
The police are also investigating the involvement of the mob and doubted whether the clay statue could have potentially been destroyed by pests or the wind. TDP leader Pattabhi Ram, meanwhile, sought for a proper inquiry after this claim was put forward by the police.
One more incident of temple attack in Andhra Pradesh.
Seethamma moorthi was destroyed Sitarama Temple near Vijayawada bus stand.#SaveTemples pic.twitter.com/q7SH2T3Rt2
— Hindu Temples (@HinduTemples7) January 3, 2021
Just a few days before, a similar incident had been reported at the Ramatheertham Temple in Vijayanagaram. It is to be noted that the police had found the lock to be intact in the temple.
Meanwhile, reports of another temple at Kurnool getting vandalised surfaced. The idols atop the gopuram in the Anjaneya Swami temple located 4 kms away from Sajjala Gudem were found to have been damaged. Three days ago an Anjaneya Swamy Jatara (fair) was observed at Marlabanda. Soon, pictures of the damaged idols became viral online. However, temple priest Sriramulu denied reports of vandalism. He said that some patches of the idols were damaged during the recent electrification works. He urged people not to believe rumours of vandalism.
Kurnool District SP Dr Fakkeerappa Kaginelli is a press release trashed the rumours being spread in social media. He said that the police and the temple staff inspected the temple and found that nothing untoward had happened. He also said that no hundis were broken or stolen.
(With inputs from The Hans India)