HYDERABAD: Trouble erupted outside a temple of a local deity, Muthyalamma, at Kummariguda in Secunderabad early on Monday morning, after a man from another faith barged into the temple premises and damaged the idol. Locals caught hold of the man and assaulted him before handing him over to the police.
He is undergoing treatment at a city hospital where his condition is said to be critical.
According to the police, the incident took place around 4.35am. A police night patrol team had checked the area just minutes before and found everything was normal.
Minutes later, a resident of the area, who was out for his morning walk, noticed su spicious activity at the temple — located near the Regional Passport Office. On finding the man vandalising the temple, he raised an alarm and alerted locals.
Temple vandalism: Miscreant likely migrated to city from Maha days agoThe videos of the act, captured by the temple’s CCTV cameras, have now gone viral.
“Following the alarm, a crowd gathered at the temple. They dragged the man out onto the road and beat him up,” a police officer said, referring to videos that show an angry mob pinning him to the ground, raining blows on him and kicking him till he fell unconscious.
“A case has been registered at the Market police station and a probe is underway. Once the man gains consciousness, we will seek details about him. We need to find out if there were others involved in the incident, and what could be their motive,” DCP, North Zone, S Rashmi Perumal, said.
Following the incident, locals, and devotees from across Hyderabad, gathered at the site in large numbers, raising slogans and demanding im mediate action against the accused. Additional force has been deployed to keep the situation under control.
“So far, all we know is that the accused is in his mid-30s. It is being said he belongs to Maharashtra and migrated to the city a few days ago. He is in the ICU right now and a team of doctors is monitoring his health,” a police officer said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.