Desecration of temples: AP govt alleges conspiracy to disturb communal harmony

The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday claimed there was a clear design and deeper conspiracy to disturb communal harmony in the state by perpetrating crimes like desecration of temples. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday night, Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, in the wake of the recent vandalism in some temples in the state, said, "prima facie there is some conspiracy because a series of incidents are taking place one after the other in various districts, that too in remote places. So it is all, as of now, under investigation."

"There is conspiracy...there is a design to disturb communal harmony. Every crime has some motive behind it. The motive in this crime is much deeper. The motive is to disturb the communal peace of the state," Das observed.

"The state which is undertaking a lot of activities for the benefit of the peoplethat activity must be derailed. That is what is the motive behind these crimes so that we get busy controlling these kind of things and don't concentrate on development activities," he added.

The Additional DGP said that was precisely the point that was under investigation. The officials' statement came days after Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy termed the desecration of temples in the state as "political guerrilla warfare" and wondered who would benefit by such acts. The technical data as well as the field level data was being gathered as part of the investigation in the cases that happened so far.

"There is one such case which has come to light where the electric saw was recovered. It was used in two incidents, one in Krishna district and one in Rajamahendravaram, to desecrate temples. This is one such fact that has emerged where the tool was used at two places. Like this many more facets may come out," Ayyanar said.

The Chief Secretary noted that the recent incidents of desecration of temples not only brought a bad name to the state but also caused grave concern in the administration. "It has also made us realise that constant vigil is necessary to maintain the spirit of togetherness and communal harmony in our state. So we have now constituted Communal Harmony Committees at the state and the district levels to take up confidence building measures and promote communal harmony in the state," he said.

Besides the top officials headed by the Chief Secretary himself, the state-level committee would have one representative from each religion as members. The district-level committee would be headed by the respective Collector and District Magistrate, Das said. The committees have been formed to arrest the evil designs of conspirators. "They will interact with the people. They will visit places where incidents occur. This is something where the society, everybody must get involved, not just for the police to investigate," the Chief Secretary remarked.

Replying to a question, the Additional DGP said so far only six persons were arrested in cases related to desecration of temples. As many as 38 cases of vandalism of temple idols were reported in the state since June 2019, including three so far this year. "Five of those cases were found to be false while there were no clues in 10 other cases," Ayyanar said. "The technical data and the evidence found at the crime scene...all being compiled and being investigated by a team leader. All data is being compiled and given to the Crime Investigation Department," Ayyanar added.