A 70-year-old statue of Lord Hanuman was stolen from Wailailai Kuti in Ba, prompting a police investigation into the theft. The 35 cm idol was cemented to the ground however vanished in a single day. Fijivillage reported that police mentioned the temple’s 68-year-old assistant treasurer found the theft Wednesday morning and lodged a report. Shree Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha President, Dhirendra Nand, described the theft as “deeply hurtful” and confirmed the organisation will conduct its personal inside investigation alongside police inquiries. He advised the information outlet that CCTV cameras are put in within the temple and urged authorities to look at the footage.“Now we have confidence within the regulation and order of this nation and within the Police Pressure. We hope the reality will come earlier than the general public very quickly,” Nand mentioned and urged devotees to not be disheartened because the incident coincided with the conclusion of Shree Krishna Janmashtami celebrations. The incident comes because the Indo-Fijian group is below elevated assault within the island nation. Final month, 100-year-old idols at Samabula Shiv Temple have been destroyed. 28-year-old man, Sameula Tawake was charged with one rely of alleged sacrilege and one rely of throwing an object. Fiji’s former lawyer basic Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum voiced concern over the setting for the Indo-Fijian group within the nation. He mentioned the desecration was the act of a person “presumably radicalised to execute spiritual hatred with function.”“Inconsistent concern and dedication by the Prime Minister about hate speech and discrimination offers rise to and encourages radical ethno- nationalists who have interaction the political recreation of ‘us’ and ‘them’,” Sayed-Khaiyum wrote.“If not reined in and spoken in opposition to within the harshest of phrases by our leaders and people in positions of authority, then such acts will solely give extra oxygen to others who’re already susceptible to hate and discrimination.”The desecration of non-Christian locations of worship began when “overt and blatant hate was espoused in opposition to Indo-Fijians in 1987, to justify the overthrow of the (Timoci) Bavadra authorities,” he wrote.Sayed-Khaiyum mentioned that the rise in assaults in opposition to Indo-Fijians is being “more and more accepted because the norm below the present management.”
