A 30-year-old computer engineering graduate named Salman Salim Thakur was arrested on Wednesday for vandalising a religious idol at a temple in Secunderabad, Telangana.
According to the Hyderabad Police, Salman, a native of Mumbai, became self-radicalised after being inspired by watching videos of controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik and other hardline Islamists on social media.
He became “self-radicalised and developed a radical mindset and hatred” towards the practices of other religions, such as idolatry, a police official said.
The accused was also involved in similar vandalism incidents in Mumbai in 2022, where he entered a Ganesh pandal wearing footwear and attacked locals. He had come to Hyderabad for a month-long personality development course, he added.
Tensions escalated in Secunderabad on Monday morning after Salman entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Muthyalamma temple and desecrated the main idol, a Durga Matha statue. During the incident, he was beaten by the some locals present at the temple.
The police then took him into custody and transferred him to a hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment for internal injuries. His condition remains serious. Authorities have registered an FIR against him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
The incident has also triggered widespread protests from local residents, Hindu groups, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar had called on the Congress government in Telangana to take strict action against the culprits, stating, “Hindu society would take a decision” based on how seriously the government responds.
The Minister of State for Home Affairs made these comments to the media after visiting the temple on Monday night, expressing his anger over the incident and the CCTV footage.
Kumar noted that several Hindu temples have been attacked since the Congress government took power 10 months ago, asserting, “Would the situation be the same if the attack took place on any other religion? How would the pseudo secularists behave? Why did no minister of the Congress government visit this temple?”
(With inputs from agencies)
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