Hill Voice, 13 May 2020, Rangamati: It has been alleged that a communal attack on a Hindu temple was carried out by miscreants in the Rangamati hill district town on the night of May 12, 2020. A Hindu religious idol was vandalized and a donation box was smashed and money was looted.
The attack took place at the Sri Sri Magadeswari Mother Temple in the Fishery Dam area of the town. This is the first attack, vandalism of idols and looting on a Hindu temple in Rangamati.
Many members of the Hindu community have expressed their concerns and protested on social media.
It is learnt that a few packets of food of a restaurant in Rangamati town were found lying in the porch of the temple. The temple committee leaders believe that the packets were left by the attackers.
Nandan Debnath, a journalist from Rangamati and a member of the Hindu community, wrote on his Facebook status, ‘Even though temples were vandalized in communal attacks across the country, this never happened in Rangamati district.’
He added, ‘But last night, for the first time in Rangamati, who attacked the temple of Sri Sri Magadeswari Mother in the Fishery Dam area, vandalized the idol of the temple and stole the money from the donation box.’
Khokon Kumar Dey wrote in his status, ‘This is the first time the idol has been vandalized in Rangamati. I demand a proper investigation into this incident and punishment of the culprits.’
Ujjwal Das wrote, “..I demand the administration to arrest those who demolished the temple and bring them to justice.”
Mridul Dhar wrote, ‘In the end, was this vested group created in Rangamati? I think it was done deliberately.’ He demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits from the Deputy Commissioner of Rangamati hill district.