Hyderabad: A communal clash jolted the city’s Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb on Wednesday night, January 14, after a tattered flexi board and a damaged deity idol were allegedly found inside the Mysamma Temple at Hyderabad’s Puranapul Darwaza area by an unknown person.
The scene angered members of the Hindu community. Videos of an angry mob stomping and wrecking the graves with sticks, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans, as well as damaging a religious flag, in the presence of police personnel, emerged on social media.
Upon receiving information, the Kamathipura Police reached the spot and tried to diffuse the situation. But things only escalated from there, as the mob swelled to nearly 300 people. They hurled stones at the officers and set police vehicles on fire. A civilian motorcycle was set ablaze, and the windshield of an incoming truck was broken, bringing the traffic to an abrupt halt at the busy intersection on the banks of the Musi river.
Four police officers and a local were reportedly injured in the stone pelting. Police responded with a lathi charge to disperse the crowd, even as tension continued to rise.
Additional force was called in. Senior police officers, including Additional Commissioner of Police, South Range (Law & Order), Tafseer Iqbal, Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP) from Charminar, Golconda and Rajendra Nagar, Task Force and traffic police, reached the site and finally brought the situation under control.
Two cases have been filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act at the Kamatipura Police Station.
The first case was filed on a complaint from local resident P Sainath. According to him, he and his brother, M Sandeep, were passing the Puranapul Darwaza when they noticed a stranger inside the temple allegedly damaging idols present there.
Sainath’s complaint further states that the person took a goddess idol and threw it to the ground. They tried to catch the person, but the latter jumped over a wall and escaped.
A case under sections 324(2) (mischief), 329(4) (criminal trespass) and 298 (damages or defiles a place of worship or sacred object with the intent to insult a religion) was lodged.
The second first information report (FIR) was lodged on a complaint from Kamathipura Sub-Inspector K Narsimulu. The officer said his station received a distress call at around 10:50 pm about a mob damaging graves near the Puranapu Darwaza area. Upon reaching, the crowd became violent and hurled stones, resulting in a few officers getting injured, including Charminar Detective Inspector Nagarjuna and sections of the public.
The second case was registered under sections 132 (assault or criminal force used to deter a public servant from performing their duty) and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), along with 324(2), 329(4) and 298.
So far, 10 people have been detained, sources said.
Additional Commissioner of Police, South Range (Law & Order), Hyderabad, Tafseer Iqbal, visited the scene of the crime. Speaking to the media, he assured there is complete peace in the area and appealed to the public not to spread false information. He said that two FIRs have been lodged against individuals. He did not provide further details.
A day after the incident, the Rajendranagar Police released a statement clarifying that the offender did not enter the premises of Mysamma temple and news about its main idol being found damaged is untrue. “The flexi and the idol were partially damaged. The idols in the sanctum sanctorum (Garbha Gudi) are safe. Hyderabad Police officials appeal to the citizens not to believe such malicious propaganda,” read the release.
The following day, Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi visited the site and urged police to take stringent action against miscreants involved in vandalism and violence.
In a video statement, he said that attempts are being made by Sangh Parivar to disrupt the communal harmony and brotherhood in Hyderabad. “If you see this pattern of these forces, belonging to the Sangh Parivar, who are trying to create a communal disturbance in Hyderabad, a majority of the incidents are happening at night and it is happening on an issue which has no relevance at all. They are trying to create a communal controversy.”
“What is the local police doing over there? You have closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and Hyderabad is supposed to have one of the best CCTV camera coverage and facial technology. These incidents should not happen, and especially at that particular place,” he said.
He also spoke about how Puranapul Darwaza has had a history of communal violence back in the 1980s and 1990s. Without directly naming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, “There are certain forces belonging to a political party, which do not want to see peace being strengthened or being prevailed in Hyderabad, but it is high time that the local police look into it. My request to the people of that area and the people of Hyderabad is that we don’t require such incidents at all. We require Hyderabad to be peaceful, so that there is progress.”
Meanwhile, even as police investigations are underway, the Telangana BJP president, Ramachander Rao, has alleged that the deity of the goddess and a Shivaji Dhwaj were desecrated. In a post on X, he accused the ruling Congress party of acting as a mute spectator in the name of vote bank politics. “While the pseudo-seculars have maintained radio silence over the issue, BJP will stand resolutely and fight with unwavering determination to safeguard our temples,” he said.
On Thursday, Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh visited Puranapul Darwaza and spoke to the locals there. He alleged that this was the second time an attempt was made to damage the Hindu temple. Speaking to the media, he said, “This incident is extremely reprehensible and has deeply hurt religious sentiments. In Telangana, neither Hindus are safe nor our temples.”
He also termed Hyderabad Police’s assurance for a safe environment as “hollow promises.”
“The police are dancing to the tunes of Asaudiddin Owaisi. As per my knowledge, only Hindus are being taken into custody. No Muslim has been detained. This is the situation in Telangana right now,” he said.
“Though Revanth Reddy is the Chief Minister of Telangana, it is Asaduddin Owaisi who is running the state,” Raja Singh told the media.
Earlier in the day, the former BJP leader issued a threatening warning saying, “The Hindus have learnt to retaliate. There would be retaliation for every incident of temple vandalism.”
