Ancient Vinayakaya idol broken in AP, police rule out communal angle

Phirangipuram: Andhra Pradesh police have booked a case against some unnamed miscreants for breaking an old Lord Vinayaka idol into pieces in Guntur district, an official said on Tuesday. Ruling out any communal angle to the crime, te police said the culprits may have been looking for valuables.

Superintendent of police of Guntur district K Arif Hafeez said the incident occurred on a small hillock in Phirangipuram mandal, which came to light on Tuesday morning.

“Preliminary investigation shows that a few miscreants in the area have done this. There is no communal angle involved in the matter. We will nab the culprits soon,” Hafeez said.

According to the SP, the idol was located 3 km away from the Phirangipuram mandal headquarters in an isolated place. He said that "treasure hunters" sometimes target old temples in search of gold or some precious stones.