Hindu temple vandalised in Pakistan

Broken idols found in sewer line, case of blasphemy and terrorism filed against 3 persons.

April 29, 2017 01:34 pm | Updated 01:42 pm IST - KARACHI:

A Pakistani Hindu devotee wearing a religious headband and her child are seen inside a bus before leaving for homage to Hinglaj Mata Temple in Balochistan, outside the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi in this April 28, 2017 photo. Pakistani Hindus constitute approximately 2% of the country’s population.

A Pakistani Hindu devotee wearing a religious headband and her child are seen inside a bus before leaving for homage to Hinglaj Mata Temple in Balochistan, outside the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi in this April 28, 2017 photo. Pakistani Hindus constitute approximately 2% of the country’s population.

A Hindu temple in Pakistan has been vandalised in the southern Sindh province and a case of blasphemy and terrorism has been registered against three unidentified persons, police said on Saturday.

Police said idols of deities were damaged and some of the broken parts were found in a nearby sewerage line. The incident occurred yesterday in Thatta district’s Gharo town.

A case of blasphemy and terrorism has been registered.

Police also registered a FIR against three persons for desecrating the deities, Dawn reported.

“Investigation is going on but so far no arrests have been made,” police officer Fida Hussain Mastoi said.

Footprints of a boy of 12?

Mr. Mastoi was quoted by BBC Urdu that the case would be investigated from all aspects, though according to preliminary probe, the footprints found near the temple seem to belong to a young boy around the age of 12.

Local Hindu councillor Lal Meheshwri said that he had been working late at the temple for a monthly religious service.

“Someone seems to have entered the temple between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. When worshippers came in the morning for prayers, the idols were missing. This is the first time that that such a thing has happened in the temple’s history,” he was quoted by the report.

Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Minority Affairs Dr. Khatto Mal said that attackers would be arrested soon.

Mostly Hindu area

Gharo is situated along the National Highway some 60 kilometres from Karachi. About 2,000 families, who are mostly Hindus, live in Gharo.

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.