‘Caught stealing’, 21-yr-old beats temple priest to death

Police said a probe has revealed that the attacker was mentally disturbed and was seen loitering near the temple over the past one week.

A wrestler-turned-priest of a temple in north-east Delhi’s Sonia Vihar was beaten to death by a man, who used a mace and a branch to thrash the 62-year-old early on Wednesday morning, the police said.

‘Caught stealing’, 21-yr-old beats temple priest to death

The attacker, identified as Sonu Bhatt, 21, was then assaulted by the public, as a result of which he suffered serious injuries and was admitted to a private hospital. His condition is serious, police said.

Police said a probe has revealed that the attacker was mentally disturbed and was seen loitering near the temple over the past one week. Locals said they often saw him sweeping the temple, police said.

Though the motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained, the police are probing if any altercation took place between Bhatt and the priest, Somai Ram.

They suspect the priest may have caught Bhatt stealing from the temple and threatened to report him to the police, prompting Bhatt to attack him fatally.

However, Ram’s family and locals have alleged a conspiracy behind the murder and said someone may have used Bhatt to kill Ram with a view to gain command of the temple.

Ram’s son Raja said he found out about the attack around 5.30am on Wednesday.

“My brothers and I rushed to the temple and found our father unconscious and bleeding from the head...” he said.

The entire attack was captured by two CCTV cameras installed at the Lord Hanuman and Shiva temple. Two video clips are circulating on social media. police said, and in one video clip, the man is seen attacking the priest with a metal mace. A third person holding a broom -- identified by locals as sweeper Raja Ram -- is seen rushing to rescue the priest and warding off the attacker with the broom.

In the second footage, people out on a morning walk and those who came to use an open gym in front of the temple are seen throwing bricks and stones at the attacker from a distance even as he continues to attack the priest with a long tree branch. The second footage also shows Bhatt turning on the public even as Ram lay bleeding outside the temple, the police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (north-east) Sanjay Kumar Sain said on Wednesday around 5.30am, the Sonia Vihar police was informed about the attack on the priest at a temple near second Pusta.

A police team reached there and learnt that the injured priest has been shifted to a nearby hospital from where he was referred to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, where he succumbed to injuries by evening.

“During inquiry, it was learnt that one Sonu Bhatt had assaulted the priest. Consequent to that, Bhatt was beaten by the public and he was admitted to the trauma centre at Civil Lines. A murder case was registered. Bhatt is still undergoing treatment and his statement is yet to be recorded,” said Sain.

Somai Ram lived with his wife, Phoolmati Devi, 58, and three sons — Dharmender Verma,37, Raja Ram Verma,34, and Anil Verma, 29 — in Block D of the third pusta of Sonia Vihar, just about 500 metres from the temple. Behind the temple is a wrestling training space, where Ram trained youngsters till 15 years ago.

“Ram was my wrestling guru (trainer) and he gave me the task of cleaning the temple premises. He reached the temple around 4 am daily and I joined him around 6am. The attack happened around 5am, when I was not around. The priest was a gentleman and never had any dispute with anyone,” said wrestler Mandeep Yadav.