A 30-year-old computer engineering graduate, Salman Salim Thakur, was arrested on Wednesday for vandalizing a religious idol at a temple in Secunderabad, Telangana.
According to the Hyderabad Police, Salman, a Mumbai native, became self-radicalized after being influenced by videos of the controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik and other hardline Islamists on social media. A police official stated that he “developed a radical mindset and hatred” toward the practices of other religions, particularly idolatry.
Salman was reportedly involved in similar vandalism incidents in Mumbai in 2022, where he attacked locals at a Ganesh pandal while wearing footwear. He had traveled to Hyderabad for a month-long personality development course, the police noted.
Tensions escalated in Secunderabad on Monday morning when Salman entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Muthyalamma temple and desecrated the main idol, a Durga Matha statue. During the incident, he was assaulted by some locals present at the temple.
The police apprehended him and subsequently transferred him to a hospital, where he is currently being treated for internal injuries. His condition remains serious. Authorities have filed an FIR against him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
This incident has sparked widespread protests from local residents, Hindu groups, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar urged the Congress government in Telangana to take stringent action against the culprits. He stated, “Hindu society would take a decision” based on the government’s response.
After visiting the temple on Monday night, the Minister of State for Home Affairs expressed his anger over the incident and the accompanying CCTV footage. Kumar pointed out that several Hindu temples have been attacked since the Congress government took power 10 months ago, asserting, “Would the situation be the same if the attack took place on any other religion? How would the pseudo-secularists behave? Why did no minister of the Congress government visit this temple?”
