A video of an incident that took place at the Vaishno Mata Temple in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh area on Saturday, 3 April, in which a 28-year-old man allegedly threw stones at the temple, is being given a false communal angle.
ACP Punjabi Bagh Vijay Chandel said that the accused, who has been identified as one Vicky Mal, a ragpicker, has been arrested. He further said that Mal threw stones at the temple because he was “angry with God”.
Sudarshan News shared a video of a vandalized temple in Delhi with a caption that translates in English as “Delhi is turning into hell. Vandalization in the pious Vaishno Devi temple of Punjabi Bagh police station. Utmost efforts to damage antique idols. Devotees are angry.”
Multiple social media handle shared the video with a caption, insinuating that Muslims did the vandalization. They shared the video with a caption that translates in English as, “Vandalisation done in the pious temple of Ma Vaishno Devi near Punjab bagh police station by people of a special community. But now no one will say anything as it is the matter of secularism”.
The Federal also reported about the incident. According to the report, the police analysed CCTV footage during the investigation and found that Mal had thrown stones at the temple on Friday night. Later on Saturday morning, the priest of Vaishno Mata Mandir, Ranjeet Pathak, found that Lord Shiva’s two statues, which were kept in an open area of the temple, were broken. The accused Mal is a ragpicker who used to work with his father before coronavirus lockdown but later, his father went back to Motihari, Bihar. Mal had a grudge against God for giving him a life of a vagabond, according to an India TV report. Mal has been arrested, and a case has been registered under IPC sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment).
Evidently, an incident that took place in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh wherein a 28-year-old allegedly threw stones at a temple was given a false communal angle.
