3 Arrested For Killing Priest, Volunteer At Uttarakhand Temple

Police arrested three persons on Sunday for the double murder of a priest and a 'sevadar' (volunteer) at the Baba Bharamal temple near Khatima in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district.

A former sevadar, an 'aghori' baba, and a person with a criminal record have been arrested for the murders, they said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Manjunath TC said that temple priest Baba Harigiri Maharaj and 'sevadar' Rupa were beaten to death with sticks on the intervening night of January 4 and January 5. Some cash and other items were also taken from the spot, he said.

Police said Kalicharan was a former 'sevadar' at the temple, Rampal was an 'aghori' baba and Pawan is a person with a criminal record from the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, it was found during interrogation that Kalicharan and Rampal had come to a 'bhandara' (community kitchen) organised at the temple. After eating at the 'bhandara', both of them stayed on the temple premises.

At night, both of them were consuming liquor due to which Baba Harigiri scolded them and the duo left, police said. Later, they conspired to kill the priest and got Pawan involved in it, they said.

On the day of the incident, the priest was attacked first, police said. Rupa, who rushed to protect him, got killed in the attack and Nanhe, another 'sevadar' got injured, they said.

Police have also recovered Rs 4,700 in cash, a mobile, and an internet dongle stolen from the priest.

The SSP said the investigation in the case was a challenge since there were no CCTV cameras at the spot and the second 'sevadar' injured in the incident could not give any substantial information.

Police interrogated more than 1,200 people and searched over 1,000 cameras during the investigation, the officer said, announcing a reward of Rs 2,500 for the police team.