Priest, ‘sewadar’ killed in attack

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, August 19

A priest and a ‘sewadar’ were allegedly killed in an attack by unidentified assailants at ‘Bhai-Behan Mandir’ (brother-sister temple), also known as Gobinddham Mandir, on the Haryana-UP border near Manglora village in the district on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

Three others were injured in the attack. The attackers also cut out the tongue of one of the injured. The incident occurred a little distance away from the Manglora police post.

The deceased were identified as Vinod Sharma, a priest and resident of Kaithal district, and Sultan, a sewadar and resident of UP. The injured are Ajay, a resident of Sangoha village, Ravinder, a resident of Bhambharehri village, and Harjinder Singh. The attackers allegedly cut out the tongue of Ravinder, said Surinder Singh Bhoria, Superintendent of Police (SP).

As per the residents, a ‘puja’ was to be performed by the priest on Sunday. So Ajay, Ravinder and Harjinder had come to the temple last evening.

All the three injured were rushed to Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College and Hospital (KCGMCH) from where they were referred to PGI, Chandigarh. Their condition is said to be critical.

As per the police, the attackers also tied the hands and legs of all the victims. The reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.

“Four teams have been constituted to crack the case. On the statement of one of the injured, we have registered a case under Section 302 against seven persons, including one by name Sunil Kumar, a resident of Manglora,” said the SP. “We have also rounded up some of the suspects,” he added.

Demanding the arrest of the accused, members of the Brahmin community led by Surinder Barota blocked the road at hospital chowk. On the assurance of arrest at the earliest, they lifted the blockade.

The protesters demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh each for the deceased and gave an ultimatum of three days to the police.

The incident came to light on Sunday at around 7 am when some devotees came to the temple and found that the main door was locked. When they looked inside from beneath the door, they saw bodies lying in a pool of blood.

They informed the residents and also the police. SP Bhoria, DSP Virinder Kumar, along with forensic experts, rushed to the spot and inspected the crime scene. The police also found liquor bottles from the crime scene.

The preliminary investigation suggests that sticks were used in the attack, the SP said.