LARKANA: Life in Larkana returned to normal on Monday as communal tension that had gripped the city following the Saturday evening arson attack on a dharamshala and the adjacent temple considerably subsided amid visits by leaders and activists of various political parties and nationalist groups to the religious place.

The attack had provoked outrage among the local Hindu community as it left some statues of deities and caused extensive damage to the dharamshala building but it was soon realised that some fanatics resorted to the act of extremism after rumours of desecration of the Holy Quran by a Hindu boy on Saturday night.

Soon after the torching of the holy place, Sindh Senior Minister for Education Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Pakistan Peoples Party-Shaheed Bhutto chairperson Ghinwa Bhutto, Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party leader Dr Qadir Magsi and many other political leaders and activists visited the holy place and expressed their sympathies with the local chapter of the Hindu Panchayat Committee (over the ugly incident). They called for an impartial probe into the whole affair.

HPC vice chairman Dr Dharampal told Dawn on Monday that there was no yardstick to measure the damage caused to the statues. He said that MNA Ramesh Lal met him and assured restoration of the holy place and deities to their original shapes and payment of compensation on behalf of MNA Faryal Talpur.

Dr Dharampal said the material loss was estimated at Rs3.5 million, adding that the minorities wing director who visited him and the temple was provided with the details of damage. He said Larkana Deputy Commissioner Ganhwar Leghari also visited a temple in Ali Goharabad on Monday and joined members of the HPC and the Hindu community in the Holi celebrations.

During her visit to the dharamshala, PPP-SB chairperson Ghinwa Bhutto condemned the incident and called for a judicial inquiry into the incident and punishment to the culprits. She said neither a Muslim nor a Hindu could dare do such things, and added that some ‘hidden hand’ might be at work.

Expressing sympathy with the Hindu community, she said Muslims and Hindus had been living together in the country for decades. “We are incomplete without each other,” she said. She was of the view that the entire community should not be punished for an irresponsible act by an individual.

She handed over an amount of Rs200,000 to Larkana HPC chairperson Kalpana Devi during a meeting with her.

STP Dr Qadir Magsi also visited the affected holy place and condemned the act of extremism. He called for an inquiry by a district and sessions judge, and said it seemed to be part of a conspiracy to trigger communal hatred.

Activists of the Jeay Sindh Tehrik including Rehman Jatoi and Ahmed Inquilabi led a demonstration to condemn the attack and express solidarity with the Hindu community.