In Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, a brutal incident took place at the Ramjanaki Mandir, where Pujari Manindra Mani Tripathi was tragically murdered. His lifeless body was callously left in a field near the temple. It was evident that the perpetrators had cruelly silenced him by placing a cloth in his mouth, and they had bound his hands and feet with a towel, indicating that he may have been strangled. The incident came to light on October 2.
The authorities were notified of this horrifying event in the morning, prompting a swift response from the police. Upon arrival, they found that the mandir’s lock had been forcefully broken, and the sacred murtis were scattered in the field. Without delay, the police arranged for an autopsy of the Pujari’s body.
Manindra Mani Tripathi, aged 48, served as a Pujari at the Ram Janaki Mandir, located within the IKM PG College campus in Anapur, under the jurisdiction of Nawabganj police station. Despite being a divyang with both legs, he faithfully tended to the mandir for nearly 25 years, also shouldering its care.
Originally from Siwan district in Bihar, Manindra’s lifeless body was discovered in a field near the mandir on October 2. He was found with his hands and legs bound with gloves, and a cloth forcefully placed in his mouth. Additionally, the mandir’s lock had been forcibly broken, and the murtis were missing. Local residents who came across this distressing scene promptly alerted the police.
In response, the police swiftly arrived at the scene, accompanied by forensic experts and a canine unit to collect evidence and conduct a thorough investigation. Furthermore, nearby CCTV footage is currently under examination. This incident has left the community feeling tense and uneasy.
Inspector Anoop Singh of Nawabganj stated that information about the Pujari’s lifeless body was received at 7 AM. He explained, “The circumstances surrounding the murder will only be revealed after the postmortem report is available. Currently, all samples and evidence from the crime scene have been collected, and the police are diligently investigating the incident. Authorities have interviewed school management and local villagers regarding the incident.”
This Mandir had faced attempted thefts in the past. According to media reports, there are two mandirs within the complex, one dedicated to Satti Chaura and the other to Ram Janaki. On August 21, 2023, there was an attempted theft at the Satti Chaura Mandir, but the thieves fled upon hearing the workers’ commotion. These criminals had targeted the valuable Kaskut vigrahas of Ram Janaki. Subsequently, on October 1, 2023, thieves once again targeted the Ram and Sita murtis.
During this latest attempt, the perpetrators bound and silenced Pujari Manindra Mani Tripathi. They managed to damage the vigraha of Ram-Janaki and were attempting to remove the murti of Laxman ji. It is believed that the Pujari succumbed to suffocation. The thieves were unable to carry away the heavy Ram-Janaki murti but succeeded in taking a one-foot vigraha of Laddu Gopal and an eight-metal murti. Additionally, they made off with all the mandir’s gold and silver items. Notably, a similar theft of the Kanhaiya vigraha occurred in 2014 at a Mandir located in Gaurishankar Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in Shringverpur, though no leads were established at the time.
A similar incident was reported from Rajasthan on August 14 this year. A Hindu Pujari was found dead in the Rasal village in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The priest, identified as 72-year-old Maharaj Mohandas, was discovered lying on the floor of his Ashram with his hands and legs tied and mouth gagged, raising suspicions of foul play. He had reportedly been serving in the ashram for the past 14 years.
Towards the end of August, 93-year-old Pujari Mahant Siyaram Das of Bhuriya Mahadev Baba Dham Mandir in Diggi town of Rajasthan’s Tonk was also tragically murdered. Devotees discovered his body the following morning when they arrived to offer their prayers.
Last April, Mahant Gorakhnath Das met a similar fate at the hands of thieves who also stole 13 murtis of Hindu deities and the jewellery adorning them from an ancient Ram-Janki temple in Bihar’s Saran district. Incidents of murders of Mandir Pujaris and thefts of murtis and other valuables from temples are on the rise and need to be addressed firmly by authorities.
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