The priest of a temple and one of the sevadars were brutally murdered and another 3 persons were injured in a gruesome attack at a temple in Haryana. According to reports, the priest Vinod Kumar and sevadar Sultan Singh were killed inside the Bhai Behen temple complex in Manglora, Karnal while 3 others were grievously injured in a violent attack.
According to reports, the Bhai Behen temple complex is located within walking distance of the Manglora police station. On Sunday morning when some local villagers went to visit the temple, they found it locked from outside and heard the priests groaning in pain. When local police entered the temple, they reportedly found 5 people, including the head priest Vinod Kumar brutally attacked and tied up. Vinod Kumar and Sultan Singh were already dead while 3 others, namely, Ravindra Sharma, Ajay Singh and Harjinder grievously injured.
Police have reportedly stated that they had been stabbed. Some reports state that their tongues have been severed too.
The police reportedly found the temple vandalised too. The donation box of the temple was broken, empty bottles of liquor and used condoms were reportedly scattered too. The temple is managed by a local trust and the priest and sevadars were reportedly employed by the trust to look after the temple.
Karnal SP Surendra Singh Bhoria has inspected the crime scene and has informed the media that the police is investigating every possible angle behind the crime. Dog squad and forensic teams have been engaged too.
This is the second such incident of murderous attack on temple priests. On August 15, two priests of a temple in Auraiya, UP were tied up and stabbed to death while another was grievously injured inside a temple in the Bidhuna area. UP police had arrested five suspects who had admitted that they had killed the priests because the priests were trying to oppose cow slaughter in the area.