Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 15 December 2024
The morning of 14 December 2024 came as a shock to many residents of Great Nicobar Island as the caretaker of ‘Sree Radha Krishna Temple,’ located in the main bazaar, reported that the temple had been vandalised. The sacred Tulasi plant in the porch of the temple was uprooted, several items inside the temple had been disturbed, and utensils made of brass and steel, along with some idols, were missing.
The police were informed immediately, and an investigation began. Police soon registered an FIR under sections 305(a), 305(d), 324(2), and 331(4) of the BNS, 2023. These sections pertain to theft, mischief, and trespassing.
Local residents began finding missing items from the temple in different areas of the temple premises and its vicinity.
Residents also discovered some clothes within the temple premises and informed the police. Community members provided inputs regarding the ownership of the clothes.
With the help of these inputs, a team from Police Station Campbell Bay, led by SHO SI Vinit Kumar Maurya, identified and apprehended the suspect. The accused is a migrant labourer from northern India, working for a local contractor in Great Nicobar.
Initially, the suspect was too intoxicated to be questioned. Police continued their investigation, scanning CCTV footage from establishments in the Campbell Bay bazaar. With the help of community members, the police recovered many items, such as audio equipment, which had been thrown into bushes across the road from the temple.
Additionally, locals spotted the damru from Lord Shiva’s trishul floating in the temple’s well. This raised suspicions that other items might also have been discarded there. The police arranged for the well to be drained, leading to the recovery of several missing items as reported by the temple caretaker.
By evening, most of the stolen items were recovered. According to sources, the suspect, who had sobered up, was questioned and confessed to the crime.
Local residents informed Nicobar Times that a car parked outside the temple premises had also been vandalised. The incident took place on the intervening night of 13 and 14 December 2024.
The case was particularly sensitive as the crime occurred at a temple and could have caused communal tensions in the region. However, the incident had no communal angle.
The local ANIIDCO Wine Shop in Great Nicobar had recently received its stock of liquor after a prolonged dry spell. Sources revealed that the accused admitted to committing the crime under the extreme influence of alcohol.
Later in the evening, a meeting was held in the chamber of SDPO Campbell Bay. Temple committee members, representatives of Hindu organisations operating in the area, and individuals connected to the case were briefed on the investigation and its findings.