Vadodara: Tension flared in the Marathi Mohalla area near Ekta Nagar on Ajwa Road on Tuesday evening after a Muslim man stormed into a Hanuman temple and vandalized property during the aarti.

The accused, Irfan Mohammad Sheikh, reportedly disrupted the ongoing prayers around 7:30 p.m. by shouting slogans such as “Stop this daily aarti disturbance.” He then scattered puja items and damaged the temple’s speaker and amplifier systems. The incident caused panic among the devotees present.

Sheikh, a resident of Ganpati Chowk in Ekta Nagar, allegedly barged into the temple during the aarti being performed by Akshay Harish Saraniya, a local resident. Following the commotion, locals dialed 100, and Head Constable Arjunsinh from Bapod police station arrived with his team.

Sheikh was detained and taken to the nearby Ekta Nagar police outpost, where he allegedly resisted arrest and damaged the police station’s furniture. Additional police personnel were called to control the situation, and the accused was eventually taken into custody. Two separate cases have been registered against him, and further investigation is underway.

Akshay, 19, a Class 12 student who filed the police complaint, said, “I had just finished performing the aarti when Irfan barged in, smashed lamps and incense stands, threw the speaker and amplifier, and started vandalizing. He attacked me and got into a fight with my mother when she tried to intervene.” He further claimed that a similar incident of disruption during aarti had occurred at the same temple about a year ago. DeshGujarat