Narayan Mandir’s idols vandalised in Karachi; 1 held
The idols of deities at a Hindu temple in this Pakistani city have been destroyed, the police said on Tuesday, the latest incident of vandalism against the places of worship of the minority community in this country.
The incident took place at the Narayan Mandir in Karachi’s old city of Narainpura on Monday evening, they said.
A man, identified as Muhammad Waleed Shabbir, has been arrested for damaging the idols of the deities, a senior police officer, Sarfaraz Nawaz, said. “He was arrested on a complaint from Mukesh Kumar, who with his wife was at the Narayan Mandir for prayers when they saw this man damaging the idols with a hammer,” he said.
An eyewitness said that angry Hindus, who were at the temple, caught hold of the miscreant and handed him over to the police.
Later, the Hindu residents of the locality staged a protest outside the police station, demanding the government to provide security to Hindus. They also raised slogans and protested that they were feeling insecure in the area after the incident. The locality is mostly inhabited by poor and low-income Hindu families who have been living for decades. The police and Pakistani Rangers reached the spot and cordoned off the area.
Sindh’s Minister for Minority Affairs Gyanchand Israni said that a case should be registered. He said that such incidents create unrest in the society. “We condemn such attacks,” he said.
A police official said that they were investigating the motive behind the incident. Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz’s Member of National Assembly Kheeal Das Kohistani condemned incident, saying that one out of two attackers has been held.