Mangaluru police have arrested three youths on the charge of barging into the premises of Kadri Manjunath temple on their two-wheelers on May 11 night.
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The police gave the names of the arrested persons as Hasan Shaheen, 19, Umar Farooq, 21, and Mohammed Zaffar, 18, all residents of Asaigoli, near Thokkottu.
The police said that the youths came to the temple on their motorcycles around 10 p.m. They entered the temple premises and drove around the premises. A security guard stopped the accused. The trio allegedly abused the security guard. Soon, temple priests and other devotees called the police.
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Mangaluru East police rushed to the spot and got hold of the three persons. The accused told police that they were wrongly directed into the temple premises by Google maps, which they were using.
On a complaint by a representative of the temple management committee, Mangaluru East police registered a case against the accused under Sections 447 (criminal trespass), 504 (intentional insult likely to cause breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has appealed to Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R. Jain and Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi Kumar to conduct a high-level investigation into the incident.
The VHP later released a statement saying: “This is necessary as investigation into the November 2022 cooker bomb explosion at Kankanady in the city had revealed that Mohammed Shareeq, the main accused in the case, had plans to plant explosive materials in the Kadri Manjunath temple.”