Yet another provocative act in Temple City
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: After vandalising Aap Shambhu Temple in Roopnagar area on Tuesday another miscreant on Thursday barged inside Shiva temple in Nanak Nagar and kicked idols and hurled abuses at women devotees performing ‘satsang’ in the main hall of the temple complex.
The incident was reported in the Sector 1 of Nanak Nagar around 5.00 P.M. Soon after the incident came to light, large number of people assembled outside the temple complex and started raising slogans and demanded strict action against the accused. This is the second incident in the last three days where famous temple has been targeted as per a sinister design to create unrest in the Jammu city and disturb communal harmony.
The youth who vandalised the temple complex has been identified as Gurcharan Singh.
According to local residents, Gurcharan Singh was serving in the police department but was placed under suspension for a long time.
Temple priest Ramesh Chander Shastri told STATE TIMES, “women devotees were conducting ‘satsang’ in the main hall of the temple complex when Gurcharan, talking on the mobile, barged inside and started kicking different idols”.
Hurling abuses he kicked different walls of the temple and tried to damage temple infrastructure.
“As we tried to stop him he ran away from a another gate and came on to the road. He was later caught from near J&K Bank building in the vicinity by the local residents and shopkeepers. We later handed him over to the police” Ramesh Shastri added.
Tension prevailed in the area as majority of shopkeepers downed their shutters and started raising slogans against the vandalisation of temple complex.
Learning from their past mistakes, senior district and police authorities immediately rushed to the spot to pacify the agitated residents and others in the area.
After a long meeting, which was also attended by the representatives of Sikh community from Nanak Nagar area, senior officers including DC, Simrandeep Singh, SSP Jammu Sunil Gupta and SDM Sonu Pargal tried to resolve the issue and brokered a peace deal. Representatives of political parties also arrived there and shared their serious concern over increasing number of attacks on temples in Jammu city. They accused the state administration of failing to check such incidents and ensuring security of religious places.
The officers left the meeting after giving them an assurance of filing the FIR and slapping PSA against the accused. In the evening temple priest was handed over copy of the FIR by the police to cool down tempers.
Meanwhile tension prevailed in the area and shops in the adjoining busy markets of Gandhi Nagar, Apsara road, Nanak Nagar, Shivaji Chowk were closed down. The district authorities had rushed additional police force to prevent any law and order situation in the area.