Video: Drunk man breaks tridents at East Godavari temple, arrested

East Godavari: The East Godavari police arrested a man on 18 January for breaking the tridents of a goddess at Nookalamma temple, Kondayyapalem, in Kakinada district. The man has been identified as V. Lakshmana Rao (39), a butcher.

On 10 January, the temple priest noticed that two tridents that were held by the goddess at the entrance of the temple were broken. Based on his complaint, the Two-Town police in Kakinada formed a special team to identify and arrest the accused persons.

The recently-installed CCTV cameras at the temple helped the police identify the accused. The footage clearly showed the man break the tridents at the temple. Based on the evidence, the police nabbed Lakshmana Rao, a resident of Kakinada, and seized a bicycle, a mobile phone, a knife, and a few other items from him.

The investigation also revealed that Rao had separated from his wife and was sleeping on temple premises.

On the night of 9 January, a drunk Rao went to the Nookalamma temple and broke the tridents of the goddess. The police have appealed to the temples to install CCTV cameras for safety.