A priest and a sewadar were allegedly stabbed to death in the premises of a temple at Manglora village in Karnal district on Sunday.
The police said three other sewadars were seriously injured and the chopped-off tongue of one of the injured was also found. The police also recovered liquor bottles from the spot.
The deceased have been identified as Vinod Kumar, priest of Govind Dham temple and resident of Kaithal district, and Sultan Singh, a sewadar who hails from Uttar Pradesh.
The injured were identified as Ajay Kumar of Sangoha village, Ravinder Singh of Bhambarehri and Harjinder Singh of Karnal. They have been hospitalised.
The police said the identity of the assailants is not known and the statements of the injured are yet to be recorded.
However, they have registered FIR against Aurn Kumar of Manglora who allegedly had a clash with sewadars of the temple before the incident took place. Arun and other identified persons have been booked under Sections 458 and 460 of the IPC.
Karnal superintendent of police (SP) Surender Bhoria said the actual reason behind the incident can be ascertained after the statement of the injured is recorded.
The police officials associated with the investigation said the incident might have taken place late night on Saturday and the bodies were spotted by two children, who came for worship in the temple on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}The police officials associated with the investigation said the incident might have taken place late night on Saturday and the bodies were spotted by two children, who came for worship in the temple on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Demanding the arrest of the accused, the family members and villagers held a protest in Karnal and blocked a road. The lifted the blockade and agreed for the postmortem of the bodies after an assurance from the SP that the accused would be arrested at the earliest.
The bodies of the deceased were sent for postmortem to the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College and Hospital in Karnal.