LUCKNOW: Days after the brutal lynching of two sadhus in Palghar district of Maharashtra, two seers were found murdered inside a temple of Lord Shiva in Pagona village of Bulandshahar district in UP on Tuesday.
The incident came to light only when villagers found their bodies in a pool of blood and informed the police. A man, believed to be the murder accused, was caught by locals and handed over to the police. He had been accused of theft by the priests.
Speaking to the media, SSP Bulandshehar Santosh Kumar Singh said, “The incident took place in Pagona village under Anoopshehar police station. The two priests Jagdish alias Gareeb Das, 55, and Sher Singh alia Seva Das, 45, had been living in the temple of Lord Shiva for the last 10 years and they used to tend it. Murari alias Raju, a resident of the same village, is accused of stealing the ‘chimta’ (tong) of the seers who had scolded him for it a few days ago.”
The SSP added that Murari arrived at the temple with a sword on Monday night and murdered the two saints. “The accused is in an inebriated state and we are trying to extract more information about the incident,” he added.
The district magistrate of Bulandshehar, Ravindra Kumar, said the accused was arrested with the help of locals. “The accused has claimed it was the will of God. He has denied using any sword and claimed that he killed the priests using a stick that was lying at the temple,” the district magistrate said.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, taking cognizance of the incident, directed district officials to reach the site of the crime and inform him of the investigations. He has also ordered strict action against the accused.
Meanwhile, the opposition including the Samajwadi Party and Congress have raised questions on the law and order situation in the state. Samajwadi Party chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav condemned the killings and demanded a thorough probe, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi demanded an impartial inquiry into the matter.
“In the first 15 days of April, more than 100 people were murdered in Uttar Pradesh. Three days back, five members of the Pachouri family were found dead under mysterious circumstances in Etah district of UP, nobody knows what happened with them. Today, two priests were brutally killed in UP’s Bulandshehar. Such heinous crimes should be thoroughly investigated and nobody should politicise the matter,” she said. Priyanka added that the government should ensure an impartial investigation into the case.