A gurudwara was allegedly damaged during a protest by united-Andhra supporters against the decision to create new Telangana state, triggering agitation by Sikhs in Hyderabad and drawing condemnation of the National Commission for Minorities and the SGPC today.
The protestors yesterday damaged the window panes of the gurudwara in K L Puram area in Vizianagaram town, which has been witnessing large-scale destruction of public and private property allegedly by united Andhra Pradesh supporters since October 4 in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to create Telangana state, police said today.
An unruly mob indulged in vandalism in the town during the 48-hour Seemandhra bandh and pelted stones on the shrine, damaging its window panes, a senior police officer said.
Police immediately intervened and rescued five persons from the religious place, the officer said.
"We are in the process of identifying the persons behind the incident after going through the video-footage. The Vizianagaram I Town police have booked a case under relevant sections of IPC," the officer said.
Meanwhile, National Commission for Minorities and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee condemned the attack.
"It is shocking to hear that the Gurdwara sahib was attacked by a mob. It is a condemnable act by miscreants who have been agitating against setting up of new Telengana state," NCM member Ajaib Singh told PTI on phone from Patiala.
He urged the Andhra Pradesh DGP to provide full security to the minority communities and their religious places.
He alleged that a mob had attacked the Gurdwara Sahib and set it on fire causing major damage, and that the caretakers of the Gurdwara were beaten badly and received injuries.
However, police in Vizianagaram said the shrine was not set on fire by the protestors.
Singh said a place of worship should not have become a target of attack during the rising tension and uprisings against the new state of Telengana.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar also condemned the incident. He said maintaining law and order is the state subject and urged the state government to take action against the miscreants. He said there were an estimated one lakh Sikhs and two Gurdwara Sahibs in Vishakapatnam.
"The cause of the attack is not yet known. A person close to the Gurdwara Sahib has said he was hiding in a small room while the Gurdwara Sahib was being ransacked by a mob. The total damage has not yet been assessed, but police have controlled the situation now," he said.
