Temple arson and idol vandalized in Kurigram,Bangladesh
In Kurigram's Phulbari upazila, there have been reports of arson and vandalism of idols. The incident took place at Naodanga village of Naodanga union of the upazila at around two o'clock on Monday.
After this incident became known, panic prevailed among the local Hindus since Tuesday morning. On receiving the information, police arrived at the spot and started investigation, said Fazlur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Phulbari police station.
According to local sources, idols of Shiva and Mansa were kept in the courtyard temple of Ratikanta Ray of Naodanga village. At around 2 am, unidentified communal terrorists attacked the temple and first vandalized the idols of Shiva and Mansa and later set fire to the temple and escaped. 40 percent of the temple was burnt. Ratikant's neighbors on hearing the incident informed him and with the help of locals he managed to put out the fire.
Golbar Rahman, an eyewitness of this incident, said that Ratikant was woken up to see the fire burning in the temple around 2:30 am. Later everyone put out the fire together.
Kartik Chandra Roy, President of Puja Udjakar Parishad of Phulbari Upazila, said that there is panic in the area due to the incident of vandalizing the idol and setting fire to the temple. The matter has been informed to the upazila administration and police. The case is being prepared in this case.
Phulbari police station OC Fazlur Rahman said, "Hearing the incident, I immediately came to the spot. The incident will be investigated seriously and the miscreants will be brought to justice.”
Phulbari Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Suman Das said, "Necessary action will be taken knowing the incident."
Stay tuned for more detailed updates: