On 10th December, masked miscreants entered Gopal Temple in the Islamganj area near the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana wearing shoes and forcefully stopped Maha Aarti. As per reports, the miscreants entered the temple and approached the priest directly, performing the Maha Aarti. They forced him to stop the Aarti, leading to a dispute with the devotees. As the conflict escalated, they fled the scene. Hindu organisations in Ludhiana have strongly condemned the incident.
Speaking to the media, the caretaker of Gopal Temple, Vinit Dua, said that Maha Aarti was in progress on 10th December at around 7:30 PM. Some miscreants wearing shoes entered the temple. They had covered their faces. Upon entering the temple, they approached the priest conducting Aarti and forced him to stop. He added when the temple priest objected, they started abusing him. The miscreants allegedly threatened the priest that they would remove the idols from the temple if the Aarti was not stopped.
Sacrilege during Maha Aarti at Shri Gopal Mandir, Ludhiana:
— PunFact (@pun_fact) December 11, 2023
Culprits have been identified as Jarnail Singh s/o Partap Singh, Varinder Singh s/o Jarnail Singh, Sonu Singh s/o Satnam Singh & are booked under section 295-A, 506, 34 IPC.
All of the culprits are absconding. pic.twitter.com/7tz2nZbzmm
The incident was captured on CCTV installed inside the temple. The miscreants claimed they were ill, so they would not let the Aarti continue. The incident was reported to the Division Number 2 Police Station. The police have registered a case, and the investigation is underway. Reportedly, the miscreants have been identified as Jarnail Singh, Varinder Singh, and Sonu Singh. An FIR under Section 295A, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against them.
Shiv Sena leader Bhanu Pratap condemned the incident and urged the police to take strict action against the miscreants. He asserted if police failed to take any action in the matter, Shiv Sena would take it to the streets.
Speaking to the media, Ludhiana SP Rupinder Kaur Sra said those who entered the temple were from the neighbourhood. They were objecting to loud noise coming from the temple. After receiving the complaint from the temple, police reached the spot and initiated investigation.
