Priest held for planning sacrifice of wife, daughter

An astrologer told him that by sacrificing Aquarian women, he could get a treasure

BENGALURU: Byadarahalli police on Saturday arrested a 46-year-old priest who planned to sacrifice his wife and daughter in order to find treasure inside a temple in Ullala near Jnana Bharathi. The accused has been identified as Mahalingesh D, a resident of Ullala who was married to Savitha 18 years ago. The couple have three daughters. Police are on the lookout for Marthanda, an astrologer who had given the idea to Mahalingesh.

A police officer from Byadarahalli police station said, “Savitha had approached the women’s rights commission to file a case after she came to know that her husband Mahalingesh had a plan to sacrifice her and one of their daughters to gain access to the treasure inside Rudramuneshwara Temple, where Mahalingesh works as a priest. Mahalingesh was in contact with Marthanda, who hails from Murudeshwara, and the duo believed that there is treasure inside the temple. They were discussing that they had to sacrifice two lives who were born under the Aquarius zodiac sign. Savitha and one of her daughter were Aquarians so, they decided to sacrifice them.

The ‘homa’ pit in the temple where Mahalingesh (left) planned to sacrifice his wife and daughter in the hope of retrieving a hidden treasure from the temple | Express
The ‘homa’ pit in the temple where Mahalingesh (left) planned to sacrifice his wife and daughter in the hope of retrieving a hidden treasure from the temple | Express

Since the last few days, Mahalingesh was forcing his daughter to remove her clothes and sit on the floor while he performed pooja. Shocked by this, Savitha discussed with her parents and then immediately approached the women’s rights commission. Based on the complaint, Byadarahalli police rushed to the temple and arrested Magalingesh.”

“Mahalingesh confessed that he came to know about the treasure inside the temple when Marthanda had noticed a pit created to perform ‘homa’. When he came to know that Savitha is an Aquarian, he hatched a plot to sacrifice her. Marthanda had asked Mahalingesh to fill the pit with blood before digging it for the treasure and had fixed a special day in August to sacrifice their lives. Efforts are on to nab Marthanda and further investigations are on”, the officer added.

Police ignored earlier complaint

In her complaint to the women’s commission, Savitha stated that she is a resident of Kengeri and married Mahalingesh in 2000. The couple have three daughters, Induja, Binduja and Lavanya. Mahalingesh was harassing her often to bear a male child. He had built the Rudramuneshwara Temple in his own land to lead a life as a priest. She had complained about his harassment to the police, but they did not take action earlier against Mahalingesh after receiving bribes from him. He also forced three of the daughters to consume liquor before they slept.

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