‘Prasad’ dispute: Delhi's Kalkaji temple helper killed

A purported video of the assault was widely shared on Saturday and it showed the accused thrashing Singh with rods and sticks.

A 35-year-old sewadar (volunteer) at the Kalkaji temple was beaten to death allegedly by group of six to seven devotees on Friday night following an argument over chunni and prasad (religious offerings), police said.

Yogendra Singh, a sewadar, who was beaten to death at Kalkaji temple by group of devotees after row over prasad(Sourced)

Police said the deceased, Yogendra Singh, had been serving at the temple for the last 15 years. He is survived by his wife Jaya Singh, son Krisha, 7, and daughter Pari, 5, who live in Hardoi. Singh stayed at the temple’s dharamshala (rest house) along with his elder brother, Kaushal Singh.

A purported video of the brutal assault was widely circulated on social media on Saturday and it showed the accused thrashing Singh with rods and sticks as he lay on the ground, striking him on the head, chest, and other parts of his body. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

According to the police, their control room received an alert about a fight at Kalkaji temple around 9.30pm. Hemant Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police (Southeast), said: “During local enquiry, it came out that the accused persons came to Kalkaji Mandir for darshan. After darshan, they demanded chunni-prasad from the victim and when there was a delay in receiving it, an argument broke out. In response, these accused persons later physically assaulted the victim with sticks and fists.”

Singh was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he succumbed to injuries during treatment. A case of murder has been registered.

Police said preliminary investigation suggests Singh had only asked the devotees to wait for the prasad since there was a large crowd. But they grew impatient and picked up a fight with Singh. He asked them to leave after they became aggressive, but the men allegedly returned with reinforcements and attacked him.

Raju, another sewadar at the temple, said the accused had fought with temple staff earlier as well. “They came on Friday and started arguing with us to get the chunni and prasad first. We tried to pacify them, but they had no patience. The chunni was given to them, but since there was a lot of crowd, Singh asked them to wait for prasad. They became aggressive. Later, when he went to the dharamshala to rest, they followed him. He was dragged out and beaten in front of people. They had rods and sticks. Nobody could stop them; everyone was too scared,” he said.

Police said while five have been identified and arrested, one of the accused remains on the run. The arrested are Atul Pandey, 30; Mohan Bidhuri, 19; and Kuldeep Bidhuri, 20. Later, Nitin Pandey, 26 of Govindpuri, was nabbed along with his father Anil Kumar, 55, who allegedly harboured him and helped him evade arrest.

An investigator said: “The main accused followed the sewadar after his duty. He called four to five friends, who waited for Singh at his resting room. They attacked him inside, dragged him out, and beat him to death with sticks and rods.”

Singh’s brother Kaushal, who was in Puri at the Shree Jagannath Temple on work, said the family is devastated. “I wish I was there to help my brother. I can’t stop thinking that nobody stepped in. He could have been saved. All he did was to ask them to wait awhile for the prasad. He worked tirelessly for the temple. What will I tell his wife and two children? He was the only family I had. Who will support us now?”