The two were living in a temple in Pagauna village (ANI) The two were living in a temple in Pagauna village (ANI)

Two sadhus were murdered, allegedly by a man who they had accused of stealing a chimta (tongs), in Bulandshahr on Tuesday. According to police, the accused Murari, was upset after the sadhus Jagdish Das (55) and Sher Singh (45) scolded him over the missing tongs a few days ago.

The two were living in a temple in Pagauna village. The accused was arrested in an inebriated state from the village premises. The police said that the accused told them that “God’s will” was behind the killing and alleged that he committed the crime under influence.

“We received information that bodies of two sadhus were found in Pagauna village early in the morning. At around 5 am, the accused Murari was found roaming around the village, half-naked under the influence of cannabis. Prima facie it appears that he killed them after they chided him for stealing a chimta. We are waiting for him to sober up in order to investigate further,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, SP Bulandshahr.

While initially, police stated that the accused murdered them with a sword, the administration later clarified that they seem to have been beaten to death using sticks lying inside the temple.

#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

According to police, villagers traced the accused 2 km away from the murder spot and an arrest was made. While a large crowd had gathered, the police denied there was any law and order situation. “We are trying to ascertain exact motive since the accused has told us that it was “God’s will” to kill them. It clearly appears that he is currently under the influence of drugs and allegedly committed the act then,” said Ravindra Kumar, DM Bulandshahr

Jagdish had come to the temple 15 years ago while Sherdas came five years ago and both had been managing the temple affairs since.

बुलंदशहर के मंदिर में दो साधु-संतों की हत्या मामले में मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव ठाकरे ने योगी आदित्यनाथ से फोन पर चर्चा की। उन्होंने साधुओं की हत्या को लेकर चिंता व्यक्त की। ऐसी अमानवीय घटना घटती है तब राजनीति न करके हमें एक साथ काम करते हुए अपराधियों को दंडित करवाना चाहिए :उद्धव ठाकरे — Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) April 28, 2020

UP CM Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the matter and has asked the DM and SSP to submit a detailed report of the incident.

In a tweet, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Adityanath over phone and expressed concern over the incident. “The killing of priests in Uttar Pradesh should not be

communalised like the Palghar incident in Maharashtra,” Raut said.

“Uddhav ji said when such incidents happen, we should refrain from indulging in politics and unitedly work to punish the culprits,” Raut said.

Earlier, Raut, in a tweet, termed the killing of the two priests “inhuman and brutal”. “Terrible ! killing of two saints, sadhus at a temple in Bulandshahar,UP, but I appeal to all concerned to not make it communal the way they tried to make Palghar, Maharashtra incidence,” he tweeted.

“Maintain peace. The country is fighting corona and Yogi Adityanath will punish the culprits,” he said in another tweet.

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