A young man shows the breaking of the statue of Shri Kale Ram installed in Shri Ram Janaki temple.
– Photo : Samvad
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On the night of January 19, some anti-social element damaged the black colored statue of Lord Shri Ram in the ancient temple of Ghanshyampuri area of Civil Lines area in Aligarh. As soon as this information was received on the afternoon of January 20 amid the preparations for the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, Ram devotees became angry. There was a jam on Baikunth Nagar Gurudwara Road outside the temple. A riotous demonstration started. After hours of jam and uproar, people somehow agreed with the police. Police have got the statue replaced with the help of local people and have registered a case in the matter.
There is more than a hundred years old Shri Ram Janaki Temple in the years old Makhanlal Dharamshala on Gurudwara Road in Ghanshyampuri. Here the black colored idols of Shri Ram Parivar and other Gods and Goddesses are present. There is a lot of vacant space in the rear part of the Dharamshala complex. There is often a gathering of people drinking alcohol here at night. On the night of 19 January, someone damaged the statue of Lord Shri Ram. At around 11 in the morning, when temple priest Ashwani Gautam reached there for cleaning and worship as usual, he saw the legs of the idol damaged. When he raised an alarm, people gathered nearby.
On receiving the news, officials of various organizations like BJP, Karni Sena etc. arrived and started creating ruckus. After some time, a jam was imposed on Gurudwara Road outside the temple. After some time, a long queue of vehicles formed and people started raising slogans of Jaishree Ram. There was a jam for about two hours. Forces from several police stations including Quarsi, Civil Lines etc. including CO III reached the spot. PAC was also called as a precautionary measure. With difficulty people were made to understand that a case would be registered and the statue would be replaced. A nearby shopkeeper immediately made arrangements for a new idol. Only then did people calm down. The situation returned to normal after about two and a half hours. During this time, many people like Gyanendra Chauhan, Prateek Chauhan, Shivam Sharma etc. of Karni Sena were present. A case has been registered in the matter on the complaint of the temple priest.
Some anti-social element has done this act. Which is being searched with the help of CCTV. A case has been registered. A new statue has been installed. -Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, SP City
