Ancient Shiva Lingam at Draksharamam Temple in AP vandalised; suspect in custody
The suspect, Neelam Srinivas, was caught on CCTV footage near the Kapileswar Ghat, the site of the incident, around the time the vandalism occurred
By - Newsmeter Network
BR Ambedkar Konaseema: A person who vandalised an ancient Shiva Lingam at Draksharamam Bhimeswara Swamy Temple on the auspicious occasion of Mukkoti Ekadashi on Tuesday was taken into custody.
The incident has triggered outrage among devotees.
Suspect’s movements seen on CCTV
The damaged lingam is along the banks of the Sapta Godavari river, behind the Bhimeswara Swamy Temple, 28 km from Kakinada. The suspect, Neelam Srinivas, was caught on CCTV footage near the Kapileswar Ghat, the site of the incident, around the time the vandalism occurred.
Every day, devotees offer prayers to the Shiva Lingam and take a dip at the Koneru, which is on the banks of the river Godavari.
Tiff with the priest ended in vandalism
It is suspected that Neelam Srinivas had a heated dispute with a local temple priest recently regarding the performance of certain rituals and vandalised the lingam in a fit of rage.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a vacation, spoke to Endowments Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy and sought details of the incident.
Condemning the vandalism, Minister Ramnarayana, in a statement, said that he has asked officials to take steps to increase security in the temple precincts to avert such incidents in future.
“The temple comes under the purview of the Archaeology department, and an action plan will be chalked out to have better coordination between the police and the Archaeology department,” he stated.
