Two separate incidents of desecration of idols of Hindu deities have been reported in Karnataka.
In Chikkodi taluk of Belgaum district, some unidentified miscreants have vandalised the idol of Saraswati idol present inside the government primary school.
From the photographs, it can be seen that the marble idol has been severely damaged in the attack. Two of the four hands have been broken, the Veena is broken, and several marble slabs and pieces can be seen lying around the tiled platform.
According to the reports, the incident occurred on Thursday evening at the government primary school in the Chinchani village of Chikkodi taluk. The school authorities became aware of the desecration of the Saraswati idol on Friday. They have now lodged a complaint with the Chikkodi police.
The Chikkodi police visited the site and inspected the school premises on Friday. The situation became tense after the incident, and a police team has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Saraswati, Mohandas Gandhi and Vivekananda idols damaged in Shivamogga
Similarly, in another recent incident, miscreants had desecrated idols of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Saraswati at a government primary school at Harohally in Shivamogga district. The miscreants had entered the school premises to vandalise the idols and statues and also destroyed the backyard of the school.
The attack on the Harohally government school, which is a learning centre of several poor students, has angered the school alumni and villagers, who have now demanded strict action against the culprits.
The villagers have alleged that the illicit liquor mafia in the village is responsible for such attacks on the school. They said some men get drunk every night and create mischief in the village area.
Following the incident, the village panchayat and the school authorities have lodged a complaint in the Tirthahalli police station.
Interestingly, the attacks on Saraswati idols inside school premises comes weeks after several Muslim girl students protesting against the hijab ban in Karnataka’s schools had objected to government schools and colleges celebrating Saraswati pooja.