The vandalism is suspected to have taken place on the middle night of December 31 and January 1, police say.
Two cases of vandalism at the temple were reported from Andhra Pradesh on Friday. The vandalism incidents sparked public outrage and demands from opposition parties for stricter action. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy promised that desecration will not be tolerated.
In one case, the idol of Lord Subrahmanya in the Sri Vigneshwara temple in Rajahmundry was found to be desecrated. In another reported incident, a temple, Sri Komalamma Paadaalu on the Paderu Ghat road in the Visakhapatnam agency area was found damaged on Friday.
The police have registered the cases and initiated investigations. The vandalism is suspected to have taken place the night between December 31 and January 1.
The latest incidents came to light even as the desecration of the 400-year-old Lord Ram idol at the Ramatheertham temple in the Vizianagaram district sparked tensions. Priests of Sita Lakshmana Kodandarama found the ancient temple gates broken on Tuesday. The idol in the sanctum sanctorum was beheaded and the severed part recovered from the nearby pool the next day.
The police have formed five teams to investigate the incident and catch the culprits.
These are not the only incidents. Last week, the temple of Lord Krishna in the city of Darsi was desecrated. Devotees filed a complaint after finding meat inside the temple and blood stains on the walls on December 22.
Police said it was an act of mischief by a drunk man and not by any political party or group.
In September, a ‘Nandi’ idol was vandalized at a temple in the Chittoor district. Police suspect that vandals had broken the idol after rumors that gold had been poured into the idol.
A century-old cart parked on the premises of the former Antarvedi Lakshmi Narasimha temple in the East Godavari district was found burned under suspicious circumstances.
Strongly condemning the incidents, the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have blamed the YSR Congress Party government for negligence.
The BJP called for a ‘Chalo Ramatheertham’ show on Friday to protest against the repeated desecration of temples.
The incidents sparked a war of words between the ruling and opposition parties. Vijay Sai Reddy, YSR Congress Party member Rajya Sabha, said he was suspicious of the role of TDP Chairman N Chandrababu Naidu in the Ramatheertham incident. He claimed that TDP leaders resorted to the act in an attempt to divert people’s attention.
Cabinet Minister Botcha Satyanarayana denied allegations that Hindu temples were threatened during the YSRCP regime and criticized the BJP for making unfounded accusations against the government for political purposes.
BJP Secretary and Co-Head of State Sunil Deodhar warned that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government will have to pay a huge price for the desecration. He claimed that every attack on temples in the state is testing the patience of Hindus. The leader noted that so far no arrests have been made in the vandalism of the Uttarandhra Ayodhya temple.
Chandrababu Naidu claimed that more than 120 attacks on temples were carried out during the past 19 months and more than 23 idols were recently demolished at six temples in Pithapuram.
Jana Sena, led by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, demanded a CBI investigation into the series of incidents of attacks on temples, desecration of idols and destruction of temple chariots.
YSRCP rebel deputy K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to delegate to a core team to investigate incidents of temple attacks and ‘bring to account the culprits, including government officials in the state’.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said Thursday that the perpetrators of attacks on temples will not be spared and ordered the police to crack down on the vandals.
He called the destruction of idols heinous and said that God will certainly punish those who continue to play with temples and idols. He ordered the police to intensify surveillance to prevent attacks on the temples.
Read: Andhra CM Jagan orders action for vandalization of idols, BJP calls for unrest
(With IANS inputs)
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