Police arrest Jammu temple desecration suspect

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested a youth for alleged desecration of Aap Shambu temple in Janipura area.

“Although we have arrested him, we are unable to carry out a probe into the matter as we are busy managing aggressive crowd. Many of them (protestors) were under influence of alcohol and even tried to gherao the police station,” District Magistrate, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh told the media here.

“They intended to attack the police station, so we resorted to mild lathicharge and tear gas to disperse them,” he added.

He further said Section 144 is not needed in the area, as the situation is under control.

Meanwhile, the mobile internet services have been suspended in Jammu following the violent protests.

As per reports, a youth entered Aap Shambu temple in Janipura area and broke the protective glass in front of the idols.

He also allegedly misbehaved with women performing aarti.

Meanwhile, the CCTV footage of the desecration went viral on the social media, adding fuel to the fire.

The protesters were demanding immediate arrest of the accused and suspension of two police officers who allegedly backed the accused and abused the complainants.

Reinforcements were rushed to Janipura to prevent protesters from heading towards the old city. Senior civil and police officers were camping at the police control room to monitor the situation. (ANI)