The Jaleshwar Mahadev ‘Shivling’ that was damaged at Dongaria village under Pandatarai police station in Kabirdham district which had sparked major outrage among the people in the region by a youth who believed that the Shivling was ‘Swyambhu’ and would evolve again if broken, police said here on Friday.
The youth identified as Akash Mishra who is a resident of Pandatarai has been arrested. He has confessed of committing the crime, Inspector General of Police (IGP) (Raipur) GP Singh informed in an official statement.
Notably, on June 28, a very old Shivling at Dongaria village in the district was damaged. The incident had sparked a major unrest and the State government had to face wide criticism from its political opponents.
Under pressure from various quarters, police had launched investigation and had recovered the pieces from a water body nearby.
According to the IGP, about 12 different police teams consisting of about 65 police personnel were working on the case. During investigations, police came to know that some suspected youths were spotted near the temple on June 28 who were then rounded up.
The youths told that they had seen Akash Mishra going to the temple on that night and Mishra had told them that he was going to the temple for getting some ‘Siddhi’ (supernatural powers), IGP said. The information was cross checked by a man living near the temple, he added.
Akash was then rounded up who told police that about two years back he had worked as priest at Kali Mandir in Tifra for a period of about 4 months. Mishra accepted that he had broken the Shivling as he believed that it was constantly evolving and would come up again, Singh added.
Police informed that the rod used in the incident was also recovered and Mishra was sent to jail on judicial remand.