India
Religious Tensions Erupt in Five Indian States: Telangana, West Bengal, Karnataka, UP, and Jharkhand
"Tensions Rise in Telangana, West Bengal, Karnataka, UP, and Jharkhand Following Idol Desecration and Festival Clashes"
- Telangana
- Location: Muthyalamma Temple, Hyderabad
- Incident: On Monday morning, a man vandalized the idol of Goddess Muthyalamma at a temple in Hyderabad. Protests erupted following the incident, and BJP leader Madhavi Lata was detained by police. Union Minister Kishan Reddy also visited the temple. Reddy claimed that a person from the Muslim community entered the temple at around 4 a.m. and damaged the idol, calling the act shameful.
- Recent Incidents: This was the second act of vandalism in Hyderabad within two days. On October 12, a Durga idol was damaged at a pandal in Nampally. While police arrested a suspect, BJP leaders called it a conspiracy.
- West Bengal
- Location: Shyampur, Howrah district
- Incident: On Sunday night, members of a particular community vandalized a Durga pandal in Shyampur, Howrah. BJP alleged that the miscreants set fire to the idol of Goddess Durga. Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari accused the attackers of also pelting stones at the immersion procession and damaging pandals in the area, escalating tensions.
- Karnataka
- Location: Solapur village, Belagavi district
- Incident: Tensions rose on Sunday night after the alleged desecration of a Durga idol, leading to clashes between two groups. Three people were injured, and two motorcycles and a car were damaged. Police had to use force to control the situation. This followed an earlier confrontation during a Durga idol immersion in Mahasi on October 12, for which 30 people were detained.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Location: Hardi area, Bahraich
- Incident: During a Durga idol immersion on October 13, a dispute over DJ music escalated into violence between two groups. The conflict intensified with stone-pelting, arson, and over 20 rounds of gunfire. A 22-year-old man named Ram Gopal Mishra was killed. A large crowd gathered for his funeral procession, which eventually turned violent, leading to further unrest in the area.
- Jharkhand
- Location: Garhwa district
- Incident: In Garhwa, a violent clash occurred between villagers and police during an idol immersion procession on Sunday. The police had barricaded a disputed route, which villagers attempted to bypass, leading to a physical altercation. The situation escalated, and police resorted to baton charges to disperse the crowd.
