Man detained after claiming attack on Chittagong Hindu temple

Police have detained a suspect for vandalising a Hindu temple at Gosaildanga of Chittagong city.

‘Shukkur’, a 35-year-old man from Chandpur, showed up at the temple dedicated to Hindu god Shiv with a trident stolen during the attack on Saturday night.

“He came to the temple yard around 3pm. He claimed he had smashed the idols and taken away the trident,” said Chittagong Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Arefin Jewel.

“People at the temple then confirmed that it was their trident,” he said.

Two idols were smashed in the temple located on the family propertly of one Ajit Shil.

“The main door to the temple was closed around 10 pm,” Shil told bdnews24.com. “This morning I came and saw the idols of ‘Kalbhairab’ and ‘Nandikesh’ smashed on the temple verandah .”

The seven-foot Kalbhairab statue had been smashed and the face of the Nandikesh statue had been defaced. Some parts of the Kalbhairab statue had been taken outside and set on fire.

Black tape had been used to cover the murals of Kali, Ramkrishna, Swami Bibekananda and Sarada Debi on the temple’s boundary wall.

The ‘Om’ symbol written at the base of the Nandikesh statue had also been covered with tape. Damage due to brickbatting could be seen on the temple’s main gate.

Locals enraged by the vandalism blocked the streets near the Barik Building intersection, but were dispersed by police around10am.

The attack will be investigated and the culprits identified, ADC Arefin Jewel had told bdnews24.com after inspecting the spot in the morning.

The CID investigators were on their way and video footage from outside the temple was being collected, he said.

“The statues outside the temple have been vandalised and it seems attempts were made to break through the main gate.”

Though the temple is owned by Ajit Shil’s family, it is also used by local Hindus for puja.