Several idols of Maa Durga were vandalized in Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh. As per reports, some miscreants had on the intervening night between the 5th and 6th of October, had damaged several Durga idols of the Doimukh Bazaar Welfare Committee’s pandal.
The idols were decapitated and defaced. President of the welfare committee Dobum Robi said that the attack was unprecedented in the town’s history. The organisers of the puja committee have appealed for peace and requested people not to communalise the incident.
The Police have thus far arrested three miscreants for the hate crime. “The group of miscreants vandalized the idols of Goddess Durga and fled from the spot. They escaped in a Tata Tiago car which later helped police to identify and apprehend them,” SP Yupia said. The incident has created a furore on social media. Some people have pointed out that all the perpetrators in the incident belonged to the Christian community.
Papum Pare Superintended of Police Jimmy Chiram claimed that the issue was not communal in nature and was related to a personal dispute. “An FIR (u/s 295/448/427/34 IPC) was registered, statements were taken, and investigation initiated,” the SP said. “They entered the pandal and got into an altercation with the guard and vandalized the idols. They escaped in a Tata Tiago car. The police were able to identify the car and were able to apprehend the trio. The police have found no evidence to indicate a communal issue in the crime,” he added.
An appeal has been made to not communalize the issue. “The issue should not be communalized. We have organized different fairs and festivals involving all tribes and communities. Such an incident has not happened earlier. The enthusiasm is still the same among the devotees. We have managed to get small idols to continue the puja,” one of Puja committee members told the media.
