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Jagannath temple priest linked to murder case shot dead
Puri superintendent of police Kanwar Vishal Singh identified the victim as Krushna Chandra Pratihari (45) and said he was a former member of the Jagannath temple managing committee and secretary of the Suara-Mahasuara Nijog.
A priest of the Jagannath temple in Puri was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Wednesday morning, police said.
Puri superintendent of police Kanwar Vishal Singh identified the victim as Krushna Chandra Pratihari (45) and said he was a former member of the Jagannath temple managing committee and secretary of the Suara-Mahasuara Nijog, the body of 1,000-odd cooks that looks after the daily cooking of Mahaprasad.
The victim was acquitted two months ago in a 10-year-old case of a murder of another senior priest of the temple.
According to Singh, Pratihari was shot in head and chest at close range by two assailants just outside a gym in Harchandi Sahi and the priest died on the spot. He was declared brought dead by doctors at Puri sadar hospital. “We are looking at all angles and have formed 4 teams to nab the culprits,” said Singh.
The temple authorities refused to comment on the case.
Singh refused to comment on possible links of the murder case in which Pratihari was acquitted and his own murder on Wednesday.
In August 2012, Pratihari was accused of masterminding the murder of Talachhu Bhagaban Mohapatra alias Guna Singhari, a senior priest of the temple. Singhari was gunned down outside a community hall in Puri.
According to police, Debi Prasad Subudhi and Sarbeswar Apat, allegedly hired by Pratihari, gunned down Mohapatra on August 22 outside a recreation room in the temple complex. Police later charged six persons including Mohapatra under sections 302 and 120(b) of IPC.
While Mohapatra looked after decoration of the deities at the temple, Pratihari’s duties included looking after preparation of abhada Mahaprasad, the meal served to the deity.
In January this year, a trial court in Puri had acquitted all the six accused due to lack of evidence and eyewitnesses. The gun that was seized from the spot also did not match with the empty cartridges found at the murder spot.
According to local Congress leader Priyadarshan Patnaik, Pratihari and Mohapatra were in a dispute over a piece of land in the town. Patnaik said Mohapatra’s rising political clout was also a simmering issue among the two. Mohapatra had become a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) councillor in Puri Municipality.
Pratihari’s brother Narasingha who lodged an FIR with town police station, alleged that his brother was killed by people close to Mohapatra. “I suspect that the assailants wanted to avenge the murder of Mohapatra. I have given some names to the police,” he said.
Damodar Mahasuara, a senior member of the Mahasuara nijog, said the murder showed breakdown of law and order in Puri. “The police should have given Pratihari security after he was acquitted in January this year. The murder is likely to trigger a cycle of violence in the temple town,” he said.
Biju Janata Dal leaders refused to comment on the murder.
