An idol of Lord Ganesh was desecrated in Andhra Pradesh’s Pidimgoyyi village, adding to the tension in the area as people were already emotionally charged due to the chariot burning incident at the nearby Antarvedi Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple.
Rajahmundry East Zone DSP Ravi Kumar said, “We received a report that some miscreants had applied human excreta to the Ganesh idol in the premises of a house in Venkatagiri area of Pidimgoyyi panchayat. We immediately rushed to the spot and called in forensic experts, and deployed clues teams and the dog squad. There are some CCTV cameras in the area. We have collected footage from there and are checking them. We have rounded up six suspects. An FIR has been registered.”
The police have also warned that stringent action will be taken against those who are indulging in malicious propaganda on social media as it is a sensitive matter. In the wake of recent events connected to temples and other places of worship, the DGP of Andhra Pradesh, D. Gautam Sawang has taken several measures apart from issuing a warning to the miscreants. A high alert has also been sounded across all the temples considered sensitive in the state.
The DGP has further instructed all 13 District Superintendents of Police to keep a strict vigil on the places of worship and to geo-tag all the shrines across the state. In order to embolden security, all concerned authorities pertaining to temples and other places of worship in the state have to ensure a close watch.