A man allegedly tried to set ablaze a Shankaracharya ‘math’ in Bharuch town of Gujarat early on Friday, March 22, and left behind a message threatening to harm its priest. The incident captured on a CCTV camera, police rushed to the spot and launched a probe to nab the culprit.
The religious institution is located in the Navchowki Ovara area on the banks of the Narmada river. “Around 5.30 am, a person threw some material on the door of the math in an attempt to set it ablaze. CCTV has captured the act. We have formed various teams to conduct a detailed investigation into the case. An FIR has also been registered in this regard,” Chavda told reporters.
Watch Video of the Incident:
In the footage, a person in black clothes and a white cap can be seen flinging something towards the math door. He then walks up to the door and sets it on fire.
Before setting the door ablaze, the unidentified man threw three to four pieces of paper towards the door. These papers had a handwritten message: “Gustakh Pir Ki Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda", said another police officer who visited the premises after getting a call from the priest, reported news agency PTI.
“When I returned to my math after performing puja at the adjoining temple around 5 am, my neighbour Dilip Dave came running and informed me that a person was throwing some material on the math’s door. That man then set ablaze the door, which I doused afterwards,” said Math priest Muktanand Swami.
Swami said he did not see anyone outside on the street when he tried to find out who had set the door on fire.