Hyderabad Police arrest three juveniles for allegedly desecrating Hanuman temple in Telangana

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police arrested three juveniles on Thursday for allegedly desecrating a Hanuman temple in Barkas, Old City. They also nabbed a scrap dealer linked to the crime.

On February 24, locals discovered the lock of the Sri Dwimukha Anjaneya Swamy Temple broken, a copper vessel missing, and the idol damaged, sparking tension in the neighborhood.

"During the investigation, we formed special teams and reviewed CCTV footage from nearby areas," said Chandrayanagutta ACP A Sudhakar.

"We spotted some children in conflict with law (CCL) acting suspiciously and carrying items in a polythene bag. The special team apprehended the three CCL from Royal Colony, Balapur. Upon questioning, they confessed to breaking the temple lock with a stone, stealing the copper vessel, and damaging the idol," he said.

The three are natives of Myanmar and were currently residing in the area, when they were picked up from their homes in Royal Colony, Balapur, and produced before the Nampally Court on Thursday.

Police also arrested Mohd Abdul Waheed (60), a scrap dealer from Edi Bazar, Balanagar, for receiving the stolen property.

Police said the minors, addicted to vices, hatched the theft plan to fund their habits. Police urged locals to maintain peace, communal harmony, and public order, and to avoid activities that could disrupt it or fuel tension.

Following the February 24 incident, Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao strongly condemned the attack. He called the destruction of Lord Hanuman's idol "extremely inhumane and heinous," citing it as evidence of an ongoing anti-Hindu rule in Telangana.

Rao claimed that the series of temple attacks under the Congress regime are not a coincidence but a planned conspiracy against Sanatana Dharma.

He expressed outrage that the government's silence on dozens of such incidents amounts to indirect support for assaults on the Hindu community.