Two incidents of brutality against Hindu priests have come forward, one from Madhya Pradesh’s (MP) Khandwa and the other from Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Barabanki.

In the first instance from Khandwa, a Hindu sadhu seeking alms was assaulted by a person identified as Pravin Gaur. Gaur misbehaved with the sadhu, abused him, and dragged him to the barber’s shop where he picked up the scissors and cut off the sadhu’s jata (tress). The incident was captured on video by onlookers and soon went viral on social media.

The victim is said to be missing and the Roshni Police Chowki policemen are said to be looking out for him. No case has been registered in the matter thus far. The police officials have proceeded with the probe on the basis of the video evidence available at their disposal.

Khandwa Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Singh informed the media that Hindu organizations have raised concerns about the safety of the sadhu. They’ve even expressed fears of something untoward happening to the Hindu holyman. Singh said that there are no such indications as of now and they are looking out for the sadhu. In the meanwhile, MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra has condemned the incident. He also informed the press that the accused has been arrested and strict action will be taken against him.

In the Barabanki incident, a 65-year-old priest was bludgeoned to death by unidentified miscreants on Monday (May 23). The victim has been identified as Ram Yadav who was a resident of Babupur village. during the course of the investigation, the police discovered that the miscreants had stolen about 20 kg of brass metal, including the bell, from the temple.

SP Anurag Vats stated that Yadav died after he was hit by a heavy object. He also said that further investigations are underway and they would nab the accused at the earliest.