Muthyalamma idol vandalism: Hyderabad police say miscreant is a repeat offender 

Hyderabad: The miscreant who had desecrated an idol at the Muthyalamma temple in Secunderabad is a repeated offender, the Hyderabad police on Wednesday said.

The city police shared details on the incident. The initial probe revealed the perpetrator’s name as Salman Salim Thakur alias Salman (30), a native of Mumbra, on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Salman came to Hyderabad early this month to attend a month-long personality development workshop being organized by English House Academy at Hotel Metropolis, Regimental Bazar, Secunderabad. During the investigation, it was found that the hotel premises was rented illegally for running the academic course without obtaining any formal permission. Necessary legal action is being taken up against the management of the premises, the press release said.

The release further said Salman is an engineering graduate and regularly posts on social media. He started watching videos of Islamic religious preachers like fugitive Zakir Naik and others on Facebook and YouTube. He became self-radicalized and developed hatred towards practices of Hindu religion like idolatry. The probe also revealed that the accused is involved in similar types of incidents and two cases are pending against him in Mumbai police stations.

Salman has committed similar offenses in the past. In 2022, he entered a Ganesh Pandal wearing footwear and argued with local people over idol worship and mocking their religious practices. According to the Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police, the accused trespassed into Sri Manokamana Siddhimahadeva Mandir and damaged the idol of Lord Shanker by kicking it. This incident happened in August 2024. The Hyderabad police officials have urged the public for calm and restraint as the investigations are underway.

An idol at Muthyalamma temple near Secunderabad’s Regional Passport Office (RPO) was allegedly vandalised in the wee hours of Monday, October 14, 2024, sparking significant unrest among local residents.

Union Minister and Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy visited the temple and assessed the damage to the idol. He told the reporters that the culprit did not come here to steal anything but to insult the Hindu society. He said some people are doing this deliberately to create communal disturbance in Hyderabad. Every temple in the city should be equipped with CCTV cameras and pickets should be deployed in sensitive areas, he added.