Idols at the Shri Mari Mata Mandir in Pakistan's Karachi were vandalised on Wednesday, 8 June, and a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a Hindu resident of the Korangi area, the police said.
According to the FIR, five men stopped by on motorcycles at the temple late on Tuesday night and asked about the pundit (caretaker), Dawn reported.
The police are trying to obtain CCTV footage to identify the said persons, Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Faisal Bashir Memon told Dawn.
"At that time, there were just two workers inside the temple and they were painting the walls. When they told the attackers that the pundit wasn't available, the suspects started pelting stones at an idol," the complainant, Sanjeev Kumar, said.
He added that the said persons fled the crime scene after threatening the workers there.
A case against the suspects has been registered under Sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Memon said.
According to The Express Tribune, police were deployed to prevent untoward incidents in the area after Hindu residents raised concerns.
India's External Affairs Ministry Reacts
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that this "was another act of systemic persecution of religious minorities."
"We've conveyed our protest to Pakistan Govt, urging them to ensure safety, security & well-being of its minority communities," it said.
Have There Been Other Such Incidents?
A historical temple, on the bank of the Indus River, was allegedly desecrated by unidentified people in October 2021. After the video went viral on social media, an FIR was lodged at the Kotri police station.
In August, dozens of people vandalised another Hindu temple in the Bhong town after a local court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy, who allegedly urinated in a local seminary.
(With inputs from PTI, The Express Tribune, and Dawn)
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