Mangaluru: Counterfeit notes and hate/blasphemous messages against the Hindu community were recovered from an offering box (hundi) placed a few meters away from the Bhagawan Sri Babbuswami Daivasthana, in Babugudde.
Speaking to the media, one of the temple’s trustees, Honnayya, informed that the box was situated close to the Babugudde road, where CCTV’s were not installed. As the box was on the roadside, the identity of the culprits is yet to be ascertained.
The act has been condemned by Mangaluru South MLA Vedavyas Kamath, Dakshina Kannada Youth Congress president Mithun Rai, and Mangaluru South BJP SC Morcha president Raghuveer Babugudde. They urged the police to take stringent action against the culprits who deposited counterfeit notes with hate messages against the Hindus.
Speaking to reporters, Rai said that similar incidents have been reported at three temples in the city and claimed that these are part of a larger conspiracy to derail religious harmony.
He urged the police to arrest the culprits immediately by setting up special teams to investigate the matter. “Fake notes resembling the 100 rupee note were found at religious shrines with messages that would trigger communal hatred. It is a conspiracy by people with perverted minds to sow seeds of hatred,” Rai added.
Condemning the incident, MLA Kamath said, “Those who committed the act with the aim of hurting religious sentiments and to desecrate shrines should be punished severely. Such acts should not be tolerated. I have already discussed the issue with the police officials and directed them to arrest the miscreants immediately.”
BJP SC Morcha president Raghuveer Babugudde called for the “masterminds” behind the incident to be booked and claimed that miscreants targeted the scheduled caste and the Mundala community by desecrating their religious shrine. “Members of the Scheduled Caste and Mundala community, who are devotees of the Kshetra, are deeply hurt by this incident. We have already filed a complaint with the Mangaluru North Police in Pandeshwar,” he added.
