In Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, a brutal incident came about on the Ramjanaki Mandir, the place Pujari Manindra Mani Tripathi was tragically murdered. His lifeless body was callously left in a discipline close to the temple. It was evident that the perpetrators had cruelly silenced him by putting a fabric in his mouth, they usually had sure his fingers and toes with a towel, indicating that he could have been strangled. The incident got here to gentle on October 2.

The authorities have been notified of this horrifying occasion within the morning, prompting a swift response from the police. Upon arrival, they found that the mandir’s lock had been forcefully damaged, and the sacred murtis have been scattered within the discipline. Without delay, the police organized for an post-mortem of the Pujari’s body.

Manindra Mani Tripathi, aged 48, served as a Pujari on the Ram Janaki Mandir, situated throughout the IKM PG College campus in Anapur, underneath the jurisdiction of Nawabganj police station. Despite being a divyang with each legs, he faithfully tended to the mandir for practically 25 years, additionally shouldering its care.

Originally from Siwan district in Bihar, Manindra’s lifeless body was found in a discipline close to the mandir on October 2. He was found with his fingers and legs sure with gloves, and a fabric forcefully positioned in his mouth. Additionally, the mandir’s lock had been forcibly damaged, and the murtis have been lacking. Local residents who got here throughout this distressing scene promptly alerted the police.

In response, the police swiftly arrived on the scene, accompanied by forensic specialists and a canine unit to gather proof and conduct a radical investigation. Furthermore, close by CCTV footage is presently underneath examination. This incident has left the group feeling tense and uneasy.

Inspector Anoop Singh of Nawabganj said that details about the Pujari’s lifeless body was obtained at 7 AM. He defined, “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 confronted tried thefts previously. According to media studies, there are two mandirs throughout the complicated, one devoted to Satti Chaura and the opposite to Ram Janaki. On August 21, 2023, there was an tried theft on the Satti Chaura Mandir, however the thieves fled upon listening to the employees’ commotion. These criminals had focused the precious Kaskut vigrahas of Ram Janaki. Subsequently, on October 1, 2023, thieves as soon as once more focused the Ram and Sita murtis.

During this newest try, the perpetrators sure and silenced Pujari Manindra Mani Tripathi. They managed to break the vigraha of Ram-Janaki and have been making an attempt to take away the murti of Laxman ji. It is believed that the Pujari succumbed to suffocation. The thieves have been unable to hold away the heavy Ram-Janaki murti however succeeded in taking a one-foot vigraha of Laddu Gopal and an eight-metal murti. Additionally, they made off with all of the mandir’s gold and silver objects. Notably, an analogous theft of the Kanhaiya vigraha occurred in 2014 at a Mandir situated in Gaurishankar Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in Shringverpur, although no leads have been established on the time.

The same incident was reported from Rajasthan on August 14 this yr. A Hindu Pujari was found lifeless within the Rasal village within the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The priest, recognized as 72-year-old Maharaj Mohandas, was found mendacity on the ground of his Ashram with his fingers and legs tied and mouth gagged, elevating suspicions of foul play. He had reportedly been serving within the ashram for the previous 14 years.

Towards the tip of August, 93-year-old Pujari Mahant Siyaram Das of Bhuriya Mahadev Baba Dham Mandir in Diggi city of Rajasthan’s Tonk was additionally tragically murdered. Devotees found his body the next morning once they arrived to supply their prayers.

Last April, Mahant Gorakhnath Das met an analogous destiny by the hands of thieves who additionally stole 13 murtis of Hindu deities and the jewelry adorning them from an historical Ram-Janki temple in Bihar’s Saran district. Incidents of murders of Mandir Pujaris and thefts of murtis and different valuables from temples are on the rise and have to be addressed firmly by authorities.