A mob of extremists laid siege at a Shiv temple in Udiagarhi village in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The area falls under the jurisdiction of the Naujhil police station. According to the media reports, the extremists vandalised the temple, broke the idols of the deities and set the premises on fire. They fled following being chased away by the villagers.
During the preliminary investigation, the locals informed that ‘Ambedkarites’ are behind the criminal act. The extremists wanted to install a statue of BR Ambedkar within the temple. They took to the destruction of the trident and snake placed atop the ancient Shiv temple. Images of deities were torn and set ablaze. At the same time, the extremists placed a photo frame of BR Ambedkar within the temple. The damage caused to the premises could be clearly seen in visuals shared on social media.
The locals prevented the extremists from carrying out destruction once they learnt about the matter. They informed the police, following which a team was rushed to the scene. Naujhil police station in-charge Shailendra Singh and sub-inspector Arvind Siwal tried to de-escalate the conflict. A large contingent of police was also deployed in the area to prevent any further law and order situation. At the same time, the cops supervised the repair work that is being carried out at the temple premises. According to police station in-charge Shailendra Singh, the tiles of the temple bearing the images of deities were removed.
The police have received complaints against a total of 5 extremists, who are responsible for carrying out vandalism at the ancient Shiv temple. They were identified as Pawan, Raju, Lokendra, Krishna and Rohit. The cops assured to take strict action against them. The Naujhil police have launched a man-hunt to nab the extremists. A panchayat meeting was held on Thursday outside the village in the presence of the police. Reportedly, most villagers who perform Puja at the temple belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
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