Unidentified men on Saturday shot at a temple priest in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district allegedly over a land dispute, ANI reported. He is in a critical condition, according to NDTV.
Gonda Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey told ANI that the incident took place in a village in the district’s Itia Thok area. He added that the police have filed a case against four people. Two people have been arrested in the case.
The priest, identified as Samrat Das, was attacked in his sleep. The priest was referred to the trauma centre at the King George’s Medical University in Lucknow, News18 reported. Das served at the Ram Janki Temple. The 30-acre temple is situated in the Tirre Manorama village, according to PTI. Some villagers had been involved in a dispute related to the land.
The incident happened just two days after a priest in Rajasthan’s Karauli district was set on fire by five people who allegedly wanted to encroach on a temple land. The priest’s last rites took place on Saturday. His family initially refused to allow the cremation till their demands for a Rs 50 lakh-compensation and a government job were met, but later relented.
The killing had triggered a political blame-game in Rajasthan, with the Bharatiya Janata Party claiming that the law and order situation had worsened in the state under the Congress. “There is no fear of law among criminals who are roaming freely under Congress rule,” Rajasthan BJP President Satish Poonia had said. “People are living under fear while criminals have no fear. This is the situation when the chief minister himself is holding the home portfolio.”
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