UP: Siddharth Nagar village on edge after religious structure found damaged, 9 held

Officers said the motive behind the incident was yet to be ascertained. The arrested accused were produced before a local court, which sent them to jail Tuesday, said Superintendent of Police, Vijay Dhull. He added that most of the accused belong to the same village.

Police force has been deployed in the village and also in adjacent villages to avoid any untoward incident.

“The religious structure has been repaired and the situation is under control,” added Vijay Dhull.

According to the police, on Monday night, they were informed that some persons had damaged a religious structure at the village. A team from the local police station reached the spot and also informed senior officers. People from the community had gathered at the place and staged a protest, demanding action against the accused.

The people told the police that a group of persons belonging to another community damaged the structure and fled.

A case was registered against 13 named persons under IPC sections 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 143 (unlawful assembly). None of the named accused were among those arrested Tuesday, the police said.