In two separate instances this week, two Shiv temples in Jammu city were vandalized, desecrated and devotees abused and attacked.

The first incident occurred on Tuesday when one Yasir Alfaz of Shiva village in Doda district, entered Aap Shambu temple in Roop Nagar area and ransacked the temple – he kicked the Shivling, broke the protective glass in front of murtis, damaged the trishul & other items and misbehaved with devotees, including women performing aarti. The CCTV footage from the temple has partially captured this vandalism –

As per Northlines, a local J&K news site, a local Hindu youth finally caught hold of Yasir Alfaz and handed him over to the police. However, head constable Rehmat Ullah defended Yasir Alfaz and proceeded to thrash the Hindu boy who had stopped the vandalism! Head constable Rehmat Ullah was later suspended for misconduct, negligence and carelessness. Local Hindus gathered to protest outside the Janipur police station and demanded strict action against the culprits. Police have arrested Yasir Alfaz, and his brother has also been detained for questioning.

It is now being said that Yasir Alfaz is of ‘unsound’ mind. But some media reports are also saying that Alfaz attacked the Shiv temple after unconfirmed reports about IS leader Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi being seriously injured in a US airstrike in Raqqa, Syria. The truth will only come out after due investigation, but such diversionary ruses are commonly employed whenever an incident of Islamofascism occurs – claims of juvenility, being mentally unsound, personal dispute, no communal angle, politicization by ‘right-wing Hindu extremists’ are some of the common techniques used by Islamist apologists.

Incident Reverberates in J&K Assembly

The incident also reverberated in the J&K assembly, where it was raised by BJP MLAs who demanded a statement from the Government (of which BJP is a coalition member). “It is a matter of serious concern. Some anti-social elements have carried out an anti-social act. The situation in Jammu is bad. The government should make a statement,” BJP MLA Ravinder Raina said.

However, National Conference’s MLA Altaf Ahmad Kaloo and Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rasheed ignored the angst & hurt of Jammu Hindus by raising the bogey of Kashmiri victimhood instead – they demanded the Government to ensure safety of Kashmiri Muslims living in Jammu region! And these same Muslim MLAs will laughingly brush aside any talk of resettling displaced Kashmiri Hindus in the valley.

Law Minister Abdul Haq Khan made a statement on the issue, which seems to blame the Hindus of Jammu, more than anything else –

“As per information received by Roopnagar police station, one mentally disturbed person, identified as Yasir of Doda, tried damaging and defiling a temple in Janipur area. The accused was arrested by police but while he was being taken away, the temple priest and some local residents tried preventing police from discharging their duties,” the minister said.

One wonders whether Hindus of Jammu can expect any justice from a Government where the law minister overlooks direct evidence and claims that the accused Muslim man only ‘tried’ to damage the temple. Why is the law minister silent on the actions of head constable Rehmat Ullah who attacked the very citizens he is duty-bound to protect? Will any of our national media muster the courage to grill Abdul Haq Khan for this extreme bias?

Second Incident of Temple Desecration

Just two days after the desecration of Aap Shambhu temple, a Shiv temple in Nanak Nagar area was desecrated in a virtual repeat of the earlier incident. Police arrested Gurbachan Singh alias Minta, a local resident, for the incident. A police constable, Minta, 40, has been under suspension for nearly two years. The police and locals said he was a drug addict.

Witnesses said that Minta entered the temple around 5.30 pm, when women were participating in a satsang. Minta hurled abuses at them and kicked the Shiva idol. While leaving the temple, he was allegedly speaking on a mobile phone and said, “I have completed the task. Now deposit money in my account.”