Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh police arrested two youths for allegedly throwing "body parts of a bovine animal" on the premises of a local temple. The local administration razed down portions of their houses for the act the two allegedly did on the temple in Jaora town of Ratlam district of the state, The Indian Express (TIE) reported.
The newspaper reports also said that one of the police officers claimed that the thrown animal parts were cow meat.
According to police, the arrested two were identified as 24-year-old Salman Mevati and 19-year-old Shaqir Qureshi, charging "hurting religious sentiments".
It was a priest at the local temple who noticed the animal parts at 3 am on Friday. The priest, identified as Gaurav Puri Goswami, informed the police of the same.
According to Deputy Inspector-General Manoj Kumar Singh, "two bike-borne miscreants threw body parts of a bovine animal on the temple premises," TIE quoted. Police traced and arrested the two and charged them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the officer said.
Ratlam Superintendent of Police Rakesh Khaka said that the incident happened at 2.41 am on Friday, June 14. He said that the miscreants threw cow meat inside the temple premises, and a case of inciting religious sentiments has been registered. The officer added that if there are more accused, they will also get arrested.
TIE further reported that there were residents who came out in groups to protest the incident.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav made a public appeal for the peace following the incident. He asked the police and the local administration to take strict action against those responsible.
Noting potential tensions, a local qazi, Hafeez Bhuru, appealed to residents not to make objectionable statements on social media.
He said that the Muslim community strongly condemns the disgusting incident that took place in the temple. He requested the government deal with the culprit in the strictest possible way, irrespective of religion.