Hindu temple attacked in Bangladesh, Goddess Kali idol vandalized

New Delhi: Unidentified miscreants vandalised the idol of a deity at a Hindu temple in Bangladesh’s Jhenaidah, prompting police to launch a manhunt for the vandals, local media reported.

Authorities of the Kali temple in Dautiya village found the idol broken into pieces on Friday morning, news portal bdnews24.com quoted Sukumar Kunda, president of the temple committee as saying. According to Amit Kumar Burman, the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Police, a case had been lodged and investigations began on Thursday.

Sukumar said miscreants broke into the temple under the cover of night and vandalised the idol. The idol’s head was found dumped on the road half a kilometre away from the temple, according to bdnews24.com.

This incident came a day after the 10-day annual Durga Puja festivities in Bangladesh came to an end with the immersion of idols on the auspicious day of Vijayadashami or Dusshera.

This is not the first incident of vandalism in a temple. On March 17, this year, the ISKCON Radhakanta Jeev temple in Dhaka was vandalized and idols were taken away. Several devotees also were also reportedly beaten up by the vandals.

Amani Krishna Das, the public relations officer of ISKCON temple, told ANI: “More than 200 terrorists led by Haji Shafiullah attacked, vandalized and looted the ISKCON Radhakanta temple at 222, Lal Mohan Saha Street in Wari.”

“The miscreants attempted to break the security wall of the temple,” the ISKON official said.

On October 16, in 2021, a temple in Noakhali city in Bangladesh was vandalised and a devotee was killed by a mob, ISKON officials said.