An incident of brutal attack on a Hindu devotee inside the Rameshwaram temple premises has sparked outrage and controversy. Nikil Kumar Ojha, a devotee from Bihar, was reportedly thrashed by the staff of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department, along with a supervisor, on the morning of July 15.
According to reports, Ojha sustained a blood injury on his forehead during the attack. He was allegedly beaten up by the staff after he questioned their inappropriate behavior of pushing women and children standing in the darshan queue. Following the incident, Ojha has filed a complaint with the Rameshwaram police station against the attackers.
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The Hindu Munnani has released a statement condemning the incident and demanded that those involved in the attack be terminated from their jobs. The incident has also sparked outrage among the Hindu community, with many expressing their anger on social media. This is the second incident of its kind to be reported in recent times, where a Hindu devotee has been attacked by HR&CE workers inside a temple premise.
The incident has raised serious concerns about the safety and security of devotees visiting temples and the behaviour of temple staff towards them. The incident has also highlighted the need for better training and monitoring of temple staff to ensure that devotees are treated with respect and dignity. The HR&CE department has a crucial role to play in this regard, and it must take steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
Devotee from Bihar Attacked
On July 15, 29yr old Nikil Kumar Ojha from Bihar, a migrant worker and is currently residing in Tiruppur, came to Rameshwaram temple for darshan. Ojha was accompanied by his mother and sister. At 11.30, the HR and CE staff inappropriately pushed women and children who were standing Queue to clear the rush. Nikhil Kumar Ojha questioned the workers for their act which led to a verbal spat. Following that, temple workers along with HR&CE supervisor started to physically assault Ojha for questioning them. Ojha sustained blood injuries in his fore head and in the face following brutal beatings. Police immediately intervened and rescued Ojha from the workers, and sent him to nearby hospital for treatment. Ojha has filed a complaint with Rameshwaram police against the workers and temple officials who assaulted him.
Condemnation from Hindu Munnani
Hindu Munnani issued a statement condemning the incident. Hindu Munnani Ramanathapuram District President Prabhakaran statement said, it is a cruel act by temple workers to brutally beat a devotee until he bled. In recent times, Rameshwaram temple has become unsafe for devotees solely because of temple workers. Stringent action must be taken against the workers involved in the incident. Hindu Munnani shared a post in social media questioning whether temple workers are there to protect the devotees or attack them.
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Outrage on Social Media
Many Hindus in social media reacted to the incident by expressing their outrage. A social media user named Raja Guru posted saying “attack on the devotee from Bihar is a deliberate attempt from Dravidian elements to provoke North Indians to attack devotees from Tamil Nadu who visit North India for pilgrimage so that North-South divide can be created for political mileage”. Another user named Dharmabhoopathy Arumugam said, “these kinds of incidents are not new but happening for several years under the Dravidian parties rule”.
Devotees from Outside States Targeted
This is not first incident where HR and CE workers targeted Hindu devotees from outside state. In December 2023, HR&CE workers brutally thrashed s group of devotees from Andhra Pradesh inside Sri Rangam temple. The devotees were back from Sabarimala pilgrimage. One devotee sustained blood injuries in the head. Devotees were beaten because they questioned the workers for pushing people in the Q and making derogatory comments.
In March 2024, a sadvi named Shipra Pathak who was on Padyatra from Ayodhya to Rameshwaram was attacked by group of 8 men near Paramakudi. Police filed a case against Shipra Pathak instead of taking action against the suspects.
“These incidents and exorbitant dharsan and other being levied by the HR and CE are clear indication of intimidatory move to bar or stop devotees from visiting temples. Poor people can’t afford to pay such hefty fee to have darshan of their gods. The move is to destroy the temple worshipping culture, which has been in place for ages, at behest of grand designs of Abrhamic religions”
