MAPUSA
For centuries, Dev Shree Kapreshwar, revered as the Rakondar “ protector deity “ stood guard over the people.
But on that fateful Sunday night in Porvorim, it was the people who stood guard for their deity, determined to protect it from being taken away by the State authorities.
A group of around 20 local residents, men and women alike, gathered at the temple premises, refusing to leave. They lit a bonfire, their faces illuminated by flickering flames and unwavering resolve. Sleep was out of the question.
Every passing hour intensified their anxiety, as they knew the government’s decision to remove the idol and translocate the sacred banyan tree had been set in motion earlier that day.
The tension that had been brewing all of Sunday finally culminated at 3 am on Monday.
In the silence of the pre-dawn hours, an auspicious time for prayer, caretaker Kartik Kudnekar’s son performed a special puja for the deity. The solemn ritual, however, could not hold back the tide that was about to sweep in.
Shortly after the puja ended, the inevitable happened.
Under the cover of darkness, a police force of nearly 70 officials, led by the SP and DySP, arrived at the temple.
Outnumbered and powerless, the locals could only watch as the officers swiftly moved in, pushed them aside and within a mere 15 minutes dismantled and took away their beloved idol.
“We did not sleep a wink. We tried our best to protect our Dev Kapreshwar, but when the police arrived in such large numbers, we were helpless,” recalled Dipesh Naik, a local resident who had spent the entire night at the site.
The weariness on his face mirrored the exhaustion of the entire community, both physical and emotional.
As the idol was taken away in a Maharashtra-registered vehicle to an undisclosed location, a painful silence engulfed the site.
Soon afterwards a JCB moved in and razed the temple structure, erasing what remained of their place of worship.
The sacred banyan tree, which had stood witness to centuries of faith and tradition, was also removed by 9 am, leaving nothing but an empty space where history once stood.
For the people of Porvorim, the loss was more than just a displacement of an idol and a tree. It was the erasure of a sacred connection, a severing of history and a deep wound in the fabric of their faith.
And though the temple area now stands empty, their fight for justice continues, fuelled by the memory of a night when they stood guard for their protector, only to be left unprotected themselves.
