A Hindu temple in Pakistan’s Punjab region was attacked by a Muslim crowd. The crowd also set fire to parts of it and destroyed idols. After the police failed to control the situation, the Pakistan Rangers were deployed.
According to Pakistani police, a crowd stormed a Hindu temple in Bhong city in Rahim Yar Khan district. It is situated 590 km away from Lahore. On Wednesday in reaction to the alleged desecration of a Muslim seminary the crowd attacked.
Last week, an eight-year-old Hindu boy allegedly urinated in a seminary library in the neighborhood. It caused tensions in Bhong, where Muslims and Hindus had coexisted peacefully for decades.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, a member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, shared videos of the temple attack on his Twitter page on Wednesday. He urged law enforcement officials to rush to the scene to stop the “burning and vandalizing.”
He added in a series of tweets, “A Hindu temple was attacked in Bhong City, Rahimyar Khan, Punjab. Since yesterday, the situation is tense.
Local police misconduct is reprehensible. The Chief Justice requested to act.”
Dr. Vankwani further said, “Strict action must be taken against those who attacked Hindu temple at Bhong. In contact with higher authorities. The situation is very critical right now. Chief Justice is requested to take action, please. Interfaith harmony is need of time,” he said.
The situation was under control, according to District Police Officer (DPO) Rahim Yar Khan Asad Sarfraz, and the mob was dispersed. “Rangers have been deployed to the Hindu temple,” he said.
According to the DPO, some 100 Hindu families live in the region, and police have been posted there to prevent any untoward incidents. He stated that no arrests have been done so far.
“Our priority is to restore law and order and provide protection to the minority community,” Sarfraz said. “The attackers were carrying sticks, stones, and bricks. They smashed the deities while raising religious slogans,” he said, adding a part of the temple was burnt down, which Dr. Vankwani also confirmed.
“We will arrest those miscreants who incited people to attack the temple,” DPO Sarfraz said.
According to the police officer, the little Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated the seminar’s library in Bhong Sharif was arrested last week. He was charged with blasphemy but was later released on bail due to his age.
On Wednesday, he added, the mob gathered outside the temple and attacked it. The social media post incited the people of Bhong to take revenge for the desecration.
