Bahrain prosecutes woman for destroying Hindu statues

Cairo: Bahraini police said Sunday they had taken legal steps against a woman who destroyed Hindu religious statues inside a shop. The woman appeared in a viral video destroying Ganesha idols inside a souvenir store in Manama’s area of Juffair, saying Bahrain is a Muslim country.

“The Capital Police took legal steps against a woman, 54, for damaging a shop in Juffair and defaming a sect and its rituals, in order to refer her to the Public Prosecution,” the police said on its Twitter account.

A senior Bahraini official condemned the act, calling it a “hate crime”.

“Destroying religious symbols is not part of nature of the Bahraini people,” royal adviser Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said. “It’s a crime that exposes alien and rejected hate,” he added in a tweet.

Foreigners account for over half of Bahrain’s total population of 1.7 million.