52-year old temple pujari Kripal Singh was hacked to death by one Razzak (45) last night in Etah district, UP.
As per UP Police, the incident occurred around mid-night in Nagla Jagroop village under Kotwali Dehat police station. Accused Razzak, who stays close to the temple, has been arrested and the murder weapon, an axe, recovered.
The murdered pujari had been staying at the temple for around 1 month. As per preliminary investigation, police claimed that Razzak shared a meal that night with the elderly pujari before having an argument and murdering him. They are investigating all angles of the case.
As per an OpIndia report, pujari Kripal Singh was popularly known as “Baba Sadhu” and he and the accused used to eat together quite often. As per police sources, Razzak was a drug addict and was likely under the influence on that day too when he killed the priest. If this is true, it raises serious questions on sections of the Hindu sadhu-sant samaj. Why was the baba/pujari entertaining a Muslim drug addict? Are the Hindu monastic orders like akharas etc. doing their duty of training their members, and spreading and protecting Dharma?
