Agartala, Sept. 13 -- Chaos erupted at Bamutia, a semi-urban suburban area of Agartala city on Saturday after unidentified miscreants ransacked the workshop of a clay artisan identified as Tapan Sarkar. As many as three large Durga idols and a Kali idol were disfigured in the dark of night.

The incident weeks before Durga Puja festivities drew widespread condemnation from the locals of the area.

Tapan Sarkar is a well-known clay artisan in Rangutia, Kalibazar. Sarkar had been preparing idols for three community pujas in the area. On Saturday morning, he and his team discovered that their workshop had been ransacked and four nearly completed idols-three Durga and one Kali-had been extensively damaged.

The estimated loss is pegged at app...