Visakhapatnam: After a series of attacks on temples in the state, the government is on high alert. Due to attacks on temples every day somewhere or other, the state government has initiated corrective steps and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to pursue cases of attacks on temples and destruction of idols. The team will investigate cases of vandalism of idols since September. The government, on the other hand, has decided to constitute committees with representatives of all religions and monitor the situation.
The state government is all set to put a check on the politics centred around attacks on temples and destruction of idols. Orders have been issued to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to prevent a series of attacks on temples. The SIT was formed with 16 officers under the leadership of Ashok Kumar, Assistant Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau. The SIT will investigate cases of vandalism of statues since September. The government has instructed the team to investigate the attacks and file charge sheets in the courts.
A meeting of the religious harmony committee meeting was held at the Secretariat on Friday. Senior Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, Home Minister Mekatoti Sucharitha, Endowments Minister Vellampally Srinivas, Minority Affairs Minister Amzad Basha met representatives of various religions. Minister Botsa announced that committees would be set up with representatives of all religions at the district level. He accused that some evil forces are carrying out attacks on temples to destabilize the government. The minister alleged that lies were being spread on social media to create unrest among the people by attacking sparsely visited temples.
Attacks on temples
In peaceful Andhra Pradesh, incidents of attacks on temples are creating unrest. Tensions are high as the issue turned political. The government and the opposition are at loggerheads with each other. Temples are often raided for treasure hunting, theft of jewellery and idol smuggling. Similar incidents have happened many times before. However, it is clear that the current situation is different. The temples where the attacks took place are not even that old. Some charities say it appears to be targeting a group.
Ranging from the destruction of idols of various Hindu gods and goddesses in Pithapuram in East Godavari district to the destruction of a statue of Lord Rama in Ramathiratham in Vijayanagaram district there were about 150 incidents in AP since January last year. Incidents of burning of Prasanna Venkateswaraswamy temple chariot in Nellore, Lakshminarasimhaswamy chariots in Antarvedi and theft of silver lions of Sri Kanaka Durga temple chariot in Vijayawada have raised concerns among the people.
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