- विज्ञापन -
Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh): A 27-year-old Dalit man has accused the priest at the Lodheshwar Mahadev temple in the district of preventing him from performing prayers. According to the man, named Shailendra, the priest, Aditya Tiwari, along with his family members, attacked him and hurled caste-based slurs after he was stopped from entering the temple to pray. Shailendra was injured and admitted to the district hospital for treatment. Both Shailendra and the temple priest have lodged police complaints regarding the incident.
The local SHO of Ramnagar police station, Anil Kumar Pandey, stated that an investigation is underway. The police plan to review CCTV footage from inside the temple and take statements from those involved before taking any further action.
In his complaint, Shailendra claimed that he was prevented from worshipping by Akhil Tiwari, Shubham Tiwari, and Aditya Tiwari, who allegedly used casteist insults to dissuade him. When he protested, the police say he was attacked with a vessel and a bell. He was initially taken to a community health center in Ramnagar and then transferred to a district hospital in Barabanki for further treatment.
On his part, temple priest Aditya Tiwari accused Shailendra of trying to molest his daughter-in-law while she was praying. He stated that when his son tried to intervene, Shailendra assaulted and abused them. Tiwari said he would cooperate with the police and insisted that the incident was not related to caste discrimination. He highlighted that many sevadars in the temple are from Dalit or backward castes and emphasized that such allegations have never been made during major festivals like Sawan and Shivratri, when many people from various castes visit the temple.
