Tension prevailed in Domjur town in the Howrah district of West Bengal after a group of Muslim youths led by a local named Jalal vandalised an idol of Goddess Saraswati on Wednesday. According to local reports, the incident happened just before devotees were to carry out the immersion of the idol a day after Saraswati Puja was celebrated across the country on Tuesday.
After the incident, irate Hindus took to the street to stage a protest. Chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ resonated as devotees sat on the road with saffron flags, blocking the thoroughfare, They demanded that the miscreants be brought to books.
A local Hindu protesting on the streets of Domjur in Howrah, West Bengal, told media that some intoxicated Muslims, led by a youth named Jalal, created a ruckus and vandalised the Goddess Saraswati idol placed in a makeshift pandal on the street.
The locals said that though the police have picked up Jalal, no action has been taken against him. Complaining of police apathy, the locals demanded strict action against Jalal and other miscreants.
Amidst all this, some local TMC leaders pinned the blame of the incident on the Hindu devotees, calling it a gimmick to discredit the Muslim community.
This is, however, not the first such incident. Several incidents of Idol vandalism and temple desecration and sacrilege have been reported over the last few years.