VIJAYAWADA: Reuting allegations of conspiracy behind the recent attacks on temples in the State, Director General of Police Gautam Sawang on Monday said all 19 incidents of attacks on temples that took place in Andhra Pradesh after the Antarvedi chariot fire incident are “standalone” incidents, and attempting to link them to spin a narrative (that temples are under attack) is wrong.
Issuing a clarification on the “supposed” attacks on temples, Sawang said the trigger for the ongoing narrative is the Antarvedi chariot fire as the chariot is significant and belongs to a renowned temple.
“The government, however, promptly decided to hand over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which reflects the government’s intent that there is nothing to hide, and also goes against the narrative that there are orchestrated attacks on temples or other religious places, which is not right,” he said. Sawang said that in the three weeks after the Antarvedi chariot fire, 19 incidents of attacks on temples took place in the State, and in 12 incidents, the police arrested the accused.
“The investigation in seven other cases is on. We need to take time and we are certain we will solve the seven cases,” the DGP asserted.
“The police are very proactive and prompt with regard to security at religious places, particularly temples, as the ongoing narrative is around temples. In the past three weeks, mapping of each such place of worship has been going on. We mapped 47,593 places of worship, of which 28,567 are temples. Only 10 per cent of the structures had CCTV cameras. We have issued notices to the authorities of temples to take necessary steps to ensure safety, like installing CCTV cameras and improving the lighting around the structure.
A comprehensive social audit of these structures has been completed. The department itself has installed CCTV cameras at over 880 locations,” he said. Referring to the recent desecration of a Nandi idol in GD Nellore of Chittoor district, Sawang said notices were served to the management to install CCTVs last week. “However, we will investigate the case and I am sure we will solve it,” he said. Sawang went on to add that they have classified these kinds of attacks and also the modus operandi of the accused specialised in breaking into temples.
“There is a belief that during the installation of idols, valuables and jewellery are placed at the base of the idol,” he said, adding that criminals are after these valuables. With respect to the incident in Kurnool, where the idol of Kala Bhairava was vandalised, he said it was a superstition of a person that taking a piece of the idol home would lead to his wife conceiving. On the Antarvedi chariot fire incident, he said they have some indications but the CBI is probing the case. “There is no connection between these 19 incidents. All of them are standalone and isolated,” he said, and requested citizens to focus on the facts.