In a shocking incident, two priests were allegedly killed last night and their bodies were found in the temple premises in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district.
According to news agency ANI, the accused, identified as Raju, has been nabbed by the state police today (April 28) morning. The accused has also been charged with murder and an investigation is underway.
The two sadhus -- identified as Sadhu Jagandas, 55-year-old, and Sevadas, 35-year-old, were murdered with a sword at a temple where they were reportedly staying.
Meanwhile, their post-mortem reports are awaited.
Nobody should politicise the matter, says Priyanka Vadra
Taking to Twitter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "In the first 15 days of April, 100 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh. The bodies of 5 people of the Pachauri family were found in Etah three days ago under suspicious circumstances. Nobody knows what happened to them."
"Today, two sadhus sleeping in a temple in Bulandshahr were brutally muredred. Such heinous crimes should be investigated in depth and nobody should politicise the matter at this time. The truth should be brought before the state by conducting a fair investigation. It is the responsibility of the government," tweeted the Congress leader.
CM Adityanath demands strict action
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has asked for strict action against the murdered. Taking cognizance of the Bulandshahr incident, Adityanath has directed top officials to inspect the site of crime and make a detailed report.
Confirming that there seems to be nothing communal about the incident, a police official said that Raju was high on drugs when he murdered the two sadhus, and is still in a drugged state. The accused will be questioned as soon as the drugs wear off, the officer stated.
Bulandshahr SSP on media giving the news a false 'communal' colour
Senior police officer, Santosh Kumar Singh said that the media often misrepresents the news by giving it a false communal colour. "The reason I had to mention the caste is to highlight that the accused and victims belong to the same community (Hindus)," Singh said.
#WATCH The accused has been arrested. As per initial probe, it has been found that few days back,he had taken away a belonging (chimta) of priests after which they had scolded him. Following which,he murdered 2 priests today. Probe underway: Santosh Kumar Singh, SSP Bulandshahr pic.twitter.com/bKABSj7Ffa
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 28, 2020
Talking to ANI, Santosh Kumar Singh said: "The two babas lived here at the temple. One person named Murai alias Raju, who belongs to a scheduled caste, took away a ''chimta'' (tongs) for which he was scolded and abused by the priests. After the murder, villagers were looking for him and spotted him drugged with bhang, with bare minimum clothes."
(With ANI inputs)
