Four idols damaged in Rajshahi
"Unknown miscreants" knocked down four under-construction idols of a newly built temple of the Hindu Goddess Durga at Samaspur in Tanore municipality early yesterday.
The temple committee suspected Ismail Mridha, a local influential of neighbouring Haridevpur area, for the vandalism as "he was trying to capture the temple's land".
Anukul Chandra Kabiraj, president of the temple's governing committee, said they found broken two idols of Goddess Laxmi and one idol each of God Kartik and Goddess Swaraswati yesterday morning.
The temple was well known as the Temple of God Hari, and this year the authority decided to observe Durga Puja there, he said.
Anukul said the Puja committee filed a General Diary (GD) with Tanore Police Station two weeks ago when Ismail Mridha asked the temple authority to remove the temple and equipment for constructing Durga idols and threatened with dire consequences.
He said a case has been filed against 15 persons including Ismail for damaging the idols.
Contacted over phone, Ismail Mridha, denied the allegations and said, “Rather, a section of the ruling party-men are using the local Hindus to capture my property”.
He claimed local Hindus used to use a small piece of his land for long for Manasa Puja. This year they captured a larger portion of the land and started setting up Durga temple, he said.
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