Gorakhnath temple vandalised in Pakistan

May 21, 2012 03:11 pm | Updated August 02, 2016 05:24 pm IST - Islamabad

File photo of historic Gorakhnath temple in Peshawar after it was re-opened.

File photo of historic Gorakhnath temple in Peshawar after it was re-opened.

A historic Hindu temple in Peshawar city of northwest Pakistan, which was re-opened on the orders of a court last year, has been vandalised by unidentified men in the third such attack on the shrine in the past two months.

The attackers burnt pictures inside Gorakhnath Temple and took away idols from the shrine located within an archaeological complex in Gor Gathri area on Sunday, leaders of the Hindu community said.

The shrine’s custodian told the media that this was the third attack on the temple in the past two months. Police officers visited the temple to probe the incident.

Hindu leaders urged police to put in place better security measures to prevent such incidents.

The temple’s custodian told police that he had seen a group of eight men inside the temple when he arrived there at 6:30 p.m.

The men started burning pictures and holy books before fleeing with some idols, he said.

Members of the minority Hindu community rushed to the temple.

Footage on television showed burnt papers and utensils lying strewn on the floor of the temple.

The 160-year-old temple was re-opened for Hindus last year on the orders of the Peshawar High Court. It had been closed since Partition.

The temple was reopened after Phool Wati, the daughter of the shrine’s cleric, petitioned the High Court.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.