Kolkata, 22 January (H.S.): A video purportedly showing the vandalisation of idols of Radha and Krishna has gone viral on social media from Rangapur village under the Harischandrapur block of Malda district in West Bengal. In the viral footage, a total of seven idols, including those of Radha–Krishna and Gaur–Nitai, can be seen lying broken and scattered in a mango orchard.

However, the news agency Hindusthan Samachar could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, shared the video on his official social media handle on Thursday. He claimed that the incident took place on Wednesday night and came to light on Thursday morning when local residents arrived at the site for worship.

In his post, Adhikari alleged that under the “misrule” of the Mamata Banerjee government, attacks on Hindu temples and deities were taking place repeatedly across the state. He further accused the state government of remaining indifferent to such incidents for a long time, which, according to him, has emboldened the perpetrators.

“The indifference of the Mamata Banerjee administration and the failure to identify and punish the culprits have led to a steady increase in attacks on Hindu faith,” the Leader of the Opposition said.

Adhikari claimed that Hindu voters in the state would hold the Chief Minister accountable for such incidents in the Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year. He also alleged that if the Trinamool Congress returns to power, the situation of Hindus in West Bengal could turn similar to that of Bangladesh.

It is noteworthy that Suvendu Adhikari has, in recent times, repeatedly highlighted incidents of vandalisation of temples and damage to idols in different parts of the state. The Malda incident is being described as the latest in a series of such cases raised by him.

Till the filing of this report, no official response had been issued by the Trinamool Congress or the Malda district administration regarding the incident.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh