Kali Mata idol seen in Mother Mary attire at Mumbai temple; priest held

THE idol of the Hindu Goddess Kali Mata was found by devotees dressed as Mother Mary in a temple in Mumbai, leading police to arrest a priest of the shrine.

According to the RCF police station official, a video has surfaced on social media showing the Kali Mata idol dressed as Mother Mary in the temple in suburban Chembur.

Devotees visiting the temple on Sunday were taken aback to find the idol of Goddess Kali dressed in attire resembling that of the mother of Jesus Christ.

They contacted the local police and told them about the change in the deity's attire. When quizzed by devotees, a temple priest, identified only as Ramesh, claimed the Hindu goddess appeared in his dream and instructed him to "adorn her in the form of Mother Mary".

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the priest for hurting the religious feelings of a community, according to police.

The priest was subsequently arrested and produced before a local court, which remanded him to two days of police custody, they said. Cops were now ascertaining if there was any organised motive behind the incident or whether more persons were involved in it, the official added.

Earlier in September, a Durga Puja pandal in Ranchi with the theme of ‘Vatican City’ angered the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which alleged that it had been done to "hurt religious sentiments of Hindus" and encourage conversion, charges that were rejected by the organisers.

Vatican City in Europe is the world's smallest sovereign state and the centre of the Roman Catholic Church.

VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal shared on X his reservation about a Durga Puja marquee on the theme of 'Vatican City'.

"This has been done to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and aimed at encouraging religious conversion. If the organising committee of this Durga Puja pandal is so interested in secularism, I would ask them to display a photograph of a Hindu god or goddess at any event organised by the Church or at Madrasas in Ranchi," Bansal told PTI.

He said that religious symbols of Christianity have been placed at the entrance of the Puja pandal and photographs of Mother Mary and other Christian characters have been displayed inside it.