Angry at God, vagabond throws stones at temple in Delhi; arrested

Holding a grudge against God for giving him a life of vagabond, a 28-year-old man allegedly threw stones and bricks at a temple in west Delhis Punjabi Bagh on Saturday, police said.

The man identified as Vicky Mal has been arrested, they said.

Ranjeet Pathak, the priest at Vaishno Mata Mandir, found that two statues of Lord Shiva, which were kept in an open area of the temple, were broken Saturday morning.

Stones and brick pieces were also found lying inside the temple premises, police said.

During investigation, police analysed CCTV footage and found that Mal, who worked as a ragpicker, was behind the incident.

The accused used to work with his father before the coronavirus-induced lockdown. His father later went back to Motihari in Bihar.

Mal started holding grudge against God for giving him the life of a vagabond, a police officer said.

An FIR was registered against the accused under IPC sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), he said, adding that further investigation is underway.

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