Hindu temple vandalised in Chachro area of Tharparkar

Police say four suspects involved in the incident, investigation underway

KARACHI: A Hindu temple in the Chachro area of Tharparkar district was vandalised by unidentified individuals over the weekend.

Police said four suspects entered the Maata Rani Bhitiyani temple during the wee hours of Saturday and vandalised idols and desecrated holy books.

“We visit the temple every week and when we reached on Saturday we saw smoke rising from the temple. The hands of the idols were broken and their faces were smeared with paint, said local resident Prem Kumar.

Police have registered a case on Kumar’s complaint and initiated an investigation.

"We have found footprints of four suspects who escaped after the incident,” local SHO Hussain Bux Rajar said.

The SHO further added that they had collected samples of the footprints and were going ahead with their search with the help of local experts in tracking.

“This is the first-ever incident of attack on Hindu temple in the area,” he said and added that Muslims and Hindus have lived together for centuries in the area and never faced such a situation in the past.

The incident was widely condemned by people from all walks of life after the news made rounds on social media.

DIG Mirpurkhas, while speaking to the media, said police and Rangers have been deputed in the area to avert any further incident and assured that the suspects involved in the incident would be arrested soon.