JAIPUR: Police on Saturday arrested a restaurant owner for damaging the idol of the Veer Tejaji temple in Sanganer in an intoxicated state. The 34-year-old accused, identified as Siddharth Singh, owns a restaurant called Tamas Cafe in Raja Park. Singh claimed he was depressed after his restaurant shut down due to financial troubles.
According to police, after drinking alcohol with a friend at a 5-star hotel on Tonk Road, Singh went to the temple and blamed the deity for his problems. In a state of frustration, he vandalised the idol.
The incident came to light early Saturday morning when police were alerted that the idol had been vandalised. Protests erupted in the city over the desecration. Angry locals and members of right-wing organisations gathered on Tonk Road, causing a traffic jam that lasted nearly three hours. The crowd broke a traffic railing and set tyres on fire, forcing police to use mild force to disperse the crowds.
Based on footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras, police tracked Singh to a hotel from where they got the CCTV footage of the night before. He was then traced to his house, from where he was arrested. He told police that while returning home from the hotel the previous night, he had stopped his car to play with street dogs. He then noticed the temple and, out of frustration, damaged the idols.
“He clicked a photo of the damaged idols and sent it to his fiancée. He had forgotten about the incident, but after seeing the photo later, he realised what he had done,” said a police officer.
Several political leaders condemned the incident on social media. Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot called it highly condemnable, stating that any attack on public faith was unacceptable. He urged the govt to take swift and strict action against those responsible and called for stronger measures to protect religious sites. State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and MP Hanuman Beniwal also demanded immediate action in the matter.