Labelled ‘jihadi’, Sai Baba’s idol demolished in Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 4: The Delhi Police is investigating the removal of a Sai Baba idol from a temple in south Delhi's Hauz Khas after some devotees filed a complaint alleging it was demolished, officials said on Sunday.
Locals said the idol has been replaced with a Lord Ganesha Idol.
Police said while no formal case has been registered in the matter yet, the temple authorities will be called for an enquiry.
The complaining devotees approached the police after a purported video of the removal incident surfaced on social media. In the video, a man supervising the removal of the idol could be seen arguing as to what religion the idol represented.
The middle-aged man who supervised the demolition, a real estate businessman, Padam Panwar, distanced himself from it. But Saraswati exulted in it. “Sai Baba was a pindari lootera (lawless raider),” he told Scroll.in over the phone. “His name was Chand Khan. He was a jihadi. It is the madness of our Hindus that he is now in our temples.”
The man who supervised the demolition was congratulated for his actions by a Hindu hardliner priest, as seen in videos that circulated on social media.According to police, on March 25, a Sai Baba idol was removed from the temple of Shahpur Jat, Hauz Khas, by the temple committee and local residents as the idol was about 10 years old.
An idol of Hindu diety Ganesh has replaced the Sai Baba idol.
"This idol was set up by temple committee member Padam Panwar. And now the Padam Panwar along with other committee members such as Bharat Panwar, Jiya Panwar, Satyanarayan, Naresh, Mohan Panwar and Pandit ji have decided to setup new idol with the consent of local residents," a senior police officer said.
The officer, however, said the matter is under enquiry.
"We have received a complaint. The matter is being looked into and appropriate legal action will be taken accordingly," said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).
No case has been registered yet and the temple authorities will be called for an enquiry in connection with the incident, he said.
Sai baba statue demolished in Delhi Shahpurjat village pic.twitter.com/aIlbvmOFin
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
