Mangalore, December 12: In another incident of vandalism, a glass enclosure of the St Antony's statue on a private property was broken in the early hours of Monday in Sooterpet off Valencia.
According to Romeo Saldanha, the owner of the four-storeyed villa named 'Vue Grande St. Antony's' the incident might have happened between 3.30am and 4.30am. The facing side of the 4-ft glass cubicle is broken. The Infant Jesus resting on the arm of St. Anthony's statue has developed a minor crack due to the impact of stone-pelting.
Mr. Saldanha, a leading transporter with a fleet of buses named St. Antony's to his credit, insists that the incident could be the handiwork of 'some miscreants' who would have been under the influence of liquor. “Our CCTV camera has recorded the noise and tape of an autorickshaw passing along our residence around the same time. The miscreants must have come on that vehicle,” Mr. Saldanha said.
The sprawling villa was built just six months ago and as an ardent devotee of St. Antony's he put up his statue on the left hand side of residence, which does not have a compound wall. The villa is situated on the mouth of the Sooterpet road, which has a massive welcome arch of Kordabdu Devasthana called Sri Babbuswami Mahadwara.
On being asked if the incident could have been triggered by communal hatred, Mr. Saldanha said, he enjoyed a cordial relationship with the people of every religion. “I give donations to Kordadbu temple every year. I don't have enemies. I have a very good relationship with everyone,” he said.
On being asked why the statue was kept in a way as to attract the attention of the passers by, he said, “As a devout follower of St Antony's I know there are a number of people who would like to pay obeisance to the saint. I see a number of people invoking prayers as they pass by the statue. I get up early in the morning and perform my prayer at 5am. But today I was shocked to see the statue being vandalized,” he said.
Pandeshwar police have registered a case. ACP Dharmaiah, DCP Jagannath along with other officers of the Pandershwar station visited the spot.
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