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Gazi Abbas Shahid
Starting as a ground reporter back in his home UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Gazi has been a part of the news industry for well over a decade. While he finds every type of news engrossing, politics, partic ... Read More
A Jammu resident arrested for alleged vandalism and arson at a local Hanuman temple in a village of Nagrota area on the city outskirts, told the the police that he carried out the act because he was “annoyed by black magic being practised by some some members of the community” at the shrine.
According to the police, the accused, Arjun Sharma, a local resident, confessed to desecrating the temple on Saturday night, claiming that he was “acting against black magic” allegedly being practiced by some locals at the temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Narain Khu village of Nagrota, on the outskirts of Jammu city.
A temple was vandalised on the outskirts of Jammu, police said on Sunday, adding that the perpetrator was arrested within hours of the incident.
Aftr Reasi another Hindu Temple vandalised in Nagrota.
Miscreants vandalised idols in Hanuman Mandir of Narain Khu, Nagrota people expressed anger.
We can't tolerate these things
We wnt strict action against these culprits pic.twitter.com/Udl9AZoWP2— Thakur Abhi (@ThakurAbhi3880) July 7, 2024
Speaking to reporters about the incident, Jammu (rural) Superintendent of Police Brijesh Sharma said the accused confessed to carrying out the act before the magistrate, as the case was solved within a few hours of being reported.
The officer said that Sharma’s timely arrested averted a potential flare-up over the issue which sparked protests by locals in the area.
“The timely arrest of the culprit averted a certain flare up in the situation. We are thankful to the people for their positive role and maintaining calm to allow police to conduct its investigation,” the SP said, adding the accused worked alone in the incident.
The officer said an FIR under relevant sections of law was registered at Nagrota Police Station after a complaint was received that some idols were desecrated and mats set on fire by unidentified persons at the temple in Narain Khu area late Saturday night.
A police party along with a team of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and Crime branch with sniffer dogs rushed to the scene and rounded up four suspected persons on the basis of investigation and CCTV footage of the area, the SP said, adding that the culprit, Arjun Sharma, confessed to his involvement in the incident.
During questioning, the accused told the cops that he was “annoyed with “black magic” being practised by some locals at the temple, the SP said. “Besides, the accused also had a personal enmity with the village ‘numbardar’ and a few others,” he said.
The senior officer urged people to not rush to any conclusion in such “sensitive matters” on social media without getting the police version of the events, adding that investigation of the case is still at its initial stage and further details will emerge with the completion of the probe.
Notably, this is the second such incident in Jammu region in the past week. On June 30, a local Shiva temple was allegedly found vandalised by unidentified miscreants in a village of Reasi district following which residents belonging to both Hindu and Muslim communities staged massive protests in the area.
Police have detained over 43 suspects for for questioning in connection with the Reasi incident which triggered outrage in the district.
(With PTI inputs)
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