MP: Group of people barge into temple past midnight, thrash priest

A group of people forcibly entered the famous Mata Tekri temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas after it had closed for the night and allegedly beat up its priest as he refused to let them in, police said.

While the Opposition Congress claimed the son of a BJP MLA was part of the group, police did not confirm the allegation.

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As per the complaint lodged by the priest at the Kotwali police station in Dewas, Jitu Raghuvanshi, who has a criminal record, arrived at the temple on Friday night with others in a fleet of eight to 10 cars.

Forced to open gates: Priest

The group members allegedly asked the priest to open the gates, and when he refused, he was allegedly abused and beaten up, City SP Dinesh Agrawal told reporters on Saturday.

“We close the temple gates by midnight. The group led by Jitu Raghuvanshi came around 12:40 am when I had already shut the gates. When I told them that the temple was closed, they forced me to open the gates and threatened to kill me. They also thrashed me,” the priest told NDTV.

No word on BJP leader’s son

An FIR was registered against them and the footage of some 50 CCTV cameras was being examined, he said. Asked if the son of a BJP leader led the group, Agrawal told reporters that the case was under investigation.

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Some videos on social media showed a couple of cars with red beacons in the fleet which arrived at the foot of the hilltop temple. The accused were later seen offering prayers inside the temple.

Dewas city Congress president Manoj Rajani said a certain BJP MLA should keep an eye on his son “who resorted to such an act despite being a Sanatani”.

(With agency inputs)