KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Police have arrested two people on suspicion of deliberately causing disharmony after a video was posted online of a Deepavali kolam being defaced recently.
North Klang police chief Assistant Commissioner Vijaya Rao Samachulu said the duo had voluntarily gone to the district police headquarters to have their statements recorded at about 11pm yesterday.
“Yes, both suspects were arrested last night,” he told reporters in a WhatsApp group chat.
He said one of the two was suspected of being the perpetrator and the other suspected of recording the video footage that has been widely circulating online.
“Yes,” he added when asked if both suspects were employees of KPJ Klang Specialist Hospital where the incident took place without specifying their genders.
The hospital had earlier issued a statement acknowledging the 37-second video, and adding that an internal investigation was underway to verify if the one seen defacing the kolam was a staff member.
Vijaya Rao gave the age range of the two suspects as in their 20s and 30s.
He said they have been remanded for three days from today for investigation under Section 298A of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.
The video, showing a person wearing a face mask stepping all over a kolam, drew anger from Malaysian Hindus who marked Deepavali on October 24 this year.
The kolam is a regular feature in Indian households during auspicious celebrations and it is also to welcome Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.
A police report was lodged by the Bandar Baru Klang police station chief after the video started being shared widely.
Retired inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has also criticised the man's action on a Twitter thread.
