WARANGAL: Warangal city was tense after the 68-year-old temple priest, who was allegedly beaten up by the imam of LB Nagar Masjid Syed Natiq Hussaini, after the two argued over the use of the temple loudspeaker, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. The deceased Devunoor Satyanarayana was the priest at a Sai Baba temple near Pochamma Maidan junction in Warangal.
Even though the party workers of religious organisations including VHP and BJP leaders wanted to take the body to the temple area, they were stopped by the police as such a move was bound to lead to communal tension in the area. After many arguments, the groups reportedly agreed to take the deceased’s body to his native village of Moglicherla, to perform the last rites.
The priest was reportedly attacked on October 26 after he refused to shut down the loudspeaker that was playing ‘suprabhatham’. The imam has already been arrested. Police are keeping a close watch on the activities of VHP and BJP party workers, as their involvement in the issue is expected to spiral into communal violence with elections round the corner.