62-yr-old temple priest murdered; miscreants decamp with Rs 60K

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 28

A priest, Mohan Sham Bhardwaj (62), was beaten up and strangled to death by several persons who entered a temple and decamped with Rs 60,000 at Gopalpura village falling under the Kathunangal police station here on Tuesday night.

According to the police, the priest apparently woke up in the middle of theft and had resisted the thieves who strangled him to death. Bhardwaj’s wife woke up and tried to save him. The police said she was in deep shock and her statement was yet to be recorded.

Though the police have registered a murder and robbery case in this connection and launched further investigation, the incident has sent shock waves among residents of the area.

Jogeshwar Singh Goraya, DSP, Majitha, said as per a preliminary probe, there were around 12 persons who entered the temple premises after jumping over the boundary walls. As they were trying to steal cash from the temple’s donation box, the priest woke up. He, along with his wife and members of the family, lived on the temple premises. His wife was also thrashed and her earrings and nosepin were snatched by the miscreants.

His wife said the accused were armed with sticks and sharp-edged weapons. They stayed in the temple premises for around three hours. They searched the premises. They also took away a digital video recorder of the CCTV cameras, besides the temple’s golak.

“After entering the temple, the accused asked for money from the priest, who along with his wife, was sleeping in a room of the temple complex. They thrashed them with sticks and fists before strangling Bhardwaj to death who had resisted them,” said Goraya. He said the body was sent for a postmortem. He said the autopsy report would reveal the exact cause of death whether Bhardwaj died of strangulation or due to some injury.

He said investigation was under progress to identify the suspects and they would be nabbed soon.