Two Sadhu’s were mercilessly stabbed to death and another severely injured inside temple premises by unidentified persons today triggering mob violence in the Bidhuna area of Auraiya district, as reported by NavBharat Times.
According to PTI, the mob, infuriated by the killing, set some shops ablaze and pelted stones forcing the police to resort to baton charge, lob tear-gas shells and fire in the air to disperse the mob. Subsequently, the situation was brought under control, however, to maintain law and order the area has been kept heavily guarded by the armed personnel.
Though the exact intent behind this gruesome murder is still unclear the cops suspect the victims’ opposition to cow slaughter is one of the prime reasons behind this abhorrent act, following which, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, directed the top officials including the Principal Secretary (Home) and the state DGP to ensure the case was figured out within 48 hours and strict action was taken against the miscreants.
The chief minister also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the two deceased sadhus and Rs 1 lakh for the injured monk, an official spokesman said in Lucknow.
The two sadhus identified as Lajja Ram Yadav and Harbhajan were overpowered and attacked with sharp objects by unidentified persons on the intervening night of 14th and 15th August, Inspector-General (Kanpur Range) Alok Singh said. They were found dead at the Bhayanak Nath temple in Kundarkot village, with their limbs stretched over the cots and tied with clothes. The third Sadhu, Ram Sharan, was critically injured and referred to a hospital at Saifai in Etawah.
“People were generally complaining that the area where the murders took place was witnessing cases of cow slaughter and the victims were opposing it. That could be a possible motive behind the attack”, the IG said, adding, Station House Officer, Akhilesh Mishra, was placed under suspension on charges of negligence.
A similar ghastly incident was reported two days back, in which a temple mahant (head priest), Kalidas and another priest, Sonpal, were beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district on Sunday night, triggering protest by the locals.
The incident took place at a Shiv temple which lies between the villages of Milik and Bijauli under the Shekhupur Satkana village panchayat. As per a report by Amar Ujala, two theories are doing the rounds. One, the attackers may have entered the premises with an aim to loot. Second, the attack could be the result of a dispute over 36 bighas of land adjoining the temple.
A Dainik Jagran report said that it was the third such incident in two days in a temple in the area. The murder follows a spate of incidents in various parts of Aligarh where temples have been vandalized and idols desecrated.
