Jhalakathi temple vandalised over land feud

A temple was vandalised in an attack by a section of Hindus over a disputed land at Choupala in the district town on Wednesday night.

At least 10 people, including a policeman, were also injured in the attack, said Mahe Alam, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station.

There are some shops on the land near Kali temple in the area, the OC said, adding that an altercation took place between the shop owners and temple authorities over the land.

At one stage of altercation, they attacked each other, leaving at least nine people from both sides injured, said Mahe Alam.

Both rival groups belong to Hindu religion, said the police official. 

"All of a sudden, the shop owners swooped on the temple with brickbats as soon as we finished Kartik Puja around 11:00pm," said Pranob Kumar, secretary of the temple committee.

An idol of God Kartik and various goods in the temple were also vandalised during the incident, he said.

Refuting the allegation of attack on the temple, one of the shop owners, Manik Debonath, said they erected a bamboo fence on the land on Wednesday afternoon.

Over erecting the fence, the temple authorities attacked their shops and looted them, he said.