A man has been taken into custody and is currently being questioned for allegedly breaking into and damaging idols at the Sanatan Shiv Mandir in Samabula yesterday afternoon.
Shree Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji vice-president Virendra Lal said the man allegedly jumped over the fence and upon entering the temple started destroying idols with an iron.
He said they were deeply hurt by the incident as some of the idols destroyed in the temple were from early 1900s when the temple was established.
“The guy had brought the iron rod with him, and what he actually did was he just went inside and started damaging all the idols and the deities which we had,” Mr Lal said.
“Upon hearing the sound of the noise, the girls who were cooking inside, came out running and then they called the police, the teachers on the other side at Suva Primary School also called the police and that guy was apprehended on the scene.
“Currently he’s been taken in for questioning.”
Mr Lal said a staff at the temple who tried to stop the man was also hurt during the incident.
“We are yet to get the full report. The police is investigating and all the details have been taken into account.”
He said they were trying to figure out what actually motivated the man to do this.
“We don’t really know why he did that but we suspect that he must have been high on drugs. But let’s wait for the police report and see what police has to say.”
Mr Lal said the man did not take away any money or property from the temple.
“From what we gathered, he didn’t enter to steal. He’s motive was just to damage, not to steal.”
Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said the man was being questioned in police custody.
