Temple desecrated in Pakistan, panic among Hindus
Islamabad, Feb 3: A 60-year-old temple has been stormed by three pistol-waving bearded men in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, media reported.
The
assailants
desecrated
the
idol
of
a
Hindu
deity,
leading
to
fear
among
the
minority
community
in
Karachi.
The
incident
happened
on
January
21
when
the
three
men
clad
in
shalwar
and
kameez
stormed
the
temple
waving
pistols
and
ordered
everyone
inside
the
premises
to
step
out.
The panic and scuffle that followed resulted in desecration of one of the three beautifully-decorated idols at the temple near the Karachi Zoological Gardens, Dawn reported.
"The people are afraid of coming here for puja now after the attack," said Maharaj Hira Lal. Other than the Maharaj and his family, the caretakers of this temple, nobody else was present when the scuffle broke.
"We don't know who those men were. We have never seen them before," Maharaj said. "We are very saddened by the incident. It has really terrorised the neighbourhood," he said. The temple has three idols of deities Shitala Mata, Santoshi Mata and Bhavani Mata.
Maharaj said the scuffles that followed resulted in the desecration of the temple as a goddess deity, Bhavani Mata, lost one of its arms. He said the temple was built as a place for worship by his grandfather soon after he moved to Pakistan from India some 60-years ago.
"He
was
childless
but
adopted
a
14-year-old
boy,
Mohan,
who
he
brought
up
as
his
son.
The
young
boy
was
soon
married
to
a
suitable
Hindu
girl,
Champa
Bai,
who
lived
nearby
in
Soldier
Bazaar.
And
I
am
Mohan
and
Champa's
son.
"The
private
temple
soon
became
known
when
several
women
considered
unable
to
give
birth
to
children
came
to
perform
puja
here
following
which
they
were
able
to
conceive.
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"Then some eight years ago, during regular puja here, devotees witnessed another miracle when Kali Mata's footprints made from red holy powder abir suddenly appeared beside the mantel," the Maharaj said. Aslam Khan, a local police officer, said the temple was not registered and no formal complaint has been made by the Hindu community to investigate the matter. "But we have been investigating to find out who the three persons were and why they barged into this private worship place for Hindus," he added.
PTI