Locals blocked the Dhar road for three hours in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district over the desecration of the idol of Lord Hanuman.
Protesters interact with police officers on Dhar Road in Kathua. (Photo: India Today)
Residents blocked the Dhar road for three hours on Tuesday afternoon to protest against the demolition of an idol of Lord Hanuman at a Shiva temple in Palak village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.
The protest called off and the roads were cleared after SDPO Billawar Arvind Kumar reached the spot, lodged an FIR against unknown miscreants and assured action within 24 hours.
Broken idol of Hanuman ji.
Police said when residents of Palak village of Mahanpur tehsil reached the Shiva temple to offer prayers, they saw that the idol of Lord Hanuman was broken.
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Angry villagers at the temple were soon joined by many others. He informed the police about the incident. Hours later, many villagers reached Dhar Road with the broken idol and staged a sit-in demanding action against the miscreants.
Traffic came to a standstill for nearly three hours due to the protest. On receiving the information, SDPO Billawar Arvind Kumar, SHO Basohli Rajendra Khajuria, SHO Bilawar Sumit Kumar, Tehsildar Radhika Sohan and other officials reached the spot.
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The protesters included Mahanpur Block Development Council (BDC) member Mahanpur Tejendra Singh Goldie, BDC president Raj Singh, Malad sarpanch Sher Singh, Mahanpur sarpanch Sonu Gupta, Nowshera sarpanch Surjit Singh and BJP youth leader Shailendra Singh. The protesters said that they would continue the sit-in till the miscreants were caught.
He said that some mischievous people are trying to spoil the brotherhood in his area.
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