Eggs thrown at Lord Ganesh idol in Vadodara; 2 men arrested, minor detained

Vadodara, Aug 27 (PTI) A group of individuals hurled eggs at a Lord Ganesh idol when it was being taken in a procession by devotees through a communally sensitive area of Vadodara city, police said on Wednesday.

An official informed police have arrested two persons and detained a minor in connection with the incident, which led to tension in the area.

The incident occurred in the wee hours of Tuesday when an idol of the elephant-headed God was being taken for installation at a pandal (temporary shed) ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi on Wednesday, the official said.

Three persons -- a minor and two men aged 20 and 29 -- allegedly threw eggs at the idol when the procession was passing through the Panigate locality of the Gujarat city, he stated.

One of the eggs fell on a part of the idol, causing anger among devotees, according to the official.

The desecration of the idol caused communal tension in the area with people demanding immediate action against the culprits.

Police registered an FIR and formed 12 teams, whose members scanned CCTV footage and used human intelligence to zero in on the trio, the official said.

Two of the accused, Sufian Mansuri (20) and Shahnawaz Qureshi (29), were arrested, while the minor was detained hours after the incident, the crime branch said in a statement.

They were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 298 (defiling a place of worship to insult religion of any class of persons), and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 324 (mischief), said the statement.

Videos showed the arrested men limping and apologising with folded hands when they were being taken to the incident site for reconstruction of the crime. PTI COR KA RSY