Bengaluru: A priest and two others were arrested by the police for organizing an item dance in a temple in Kolar district of Karnataka.

The programme was organised on Thursday night in a temple in Tekal in Kolar district, some 75 km from Bengaluru.

According to a report in India Today, the accused also assaulted the policemen and held them captive for a few hours.

The police acted on a tip off about girls in skimpy costumes dancing on the premises of the Byatagangamma temple on the Tekal-Bangarpete Road.

When the two policemen, who went to the spot, asked them to produce a permission letter for the public performance, the priest and two others allegedly assaulted them and locked them inside a room.

When they did not return to the police station in time, their officer reportedly reached the spot with a police platoon.

Soon the police team took control of the situation and arrested the priest and two others.

The dancers were reportedly brought from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh for night long performance as part of the 6th anniversary celebrations of the temple.