SHILLONG, Sep 1: The incident of vandalism and desecration of statues at a church in Daram village of North Garo Hills, which is one of the oldest churches in Garo Hills region, has evoked strong reactions from veteran politician Bindo M Lanong, who has demanded of the police to arrest the person identified for his alleged involvement in the crime.
Condemning the incident, Lanong said that the police should interrogate the person and unearth if his alleged mental condition drove him to commit the act or not.
“There is clear motive behind this incident, otherwise, why would he desecrate the idols in the church? He cannot hide under the excuse that he was abnormal. The police should investigate the motive and find out the real truth,” the veteran political leader said. He termed it a pre-meditated action maintaining that only the heads of the two statues were desecrated.
“I would therefore urge upon the police to find out the past history of this person and to come with the real findings why he has committed this,” Lanong added.
It may be mentioned that a suspect has been identified by the police in regard with the case.
“One suspect has been identified in connection with the desecration of a church. The suspect is mentally unsound and is currently admitted at Tura Civil Hospital under psychiatric ward,” Shailendra Bamaniya, the district police chief of North Garo Hills, had said.
According to the police, the suspect “has a history of vandalising” as he had in the past destroyed other revered church icons inside homes in Daram village.
“We are keeping a close watch on the suspect in the hospital and investigation is on,” Bamaniya said.
Police said that the incident occurred when all the priests were in Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills for a church retreat programme on the nights of August 25 and August 26, when idols installed on the church premises were smashed by miscreants.
