UP Priest Shot At Allegedly Over Land Dispute

A temple priest was shot at by some miscreants early Sunday morning over a land dispute in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda, police said.

The priest of Ram Janki Temple, spread over 30 acres, and some villagers had a dispute over the land in Tirre Manorama village, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shailesh Kumar Pandey said.

Some miscreants fired shots at Atul Baba alias Samrat Das, which hit his left shoulder.

Das was taken to the district hospital and then referred to King George Medical University in Lucknow, where his condition is stable.

A case of attempt to murder has been registered against four people on the complaint lodged by Mahant Sitaram Das and two persons have been detained for interrogation, Pandey said. He added that teams have been constituted to nab the accused.

The officer said the police force has been deployed in the area and the situation is peaceful.

Villagers expressed anguish over the incident that happened despite deployment of two home guards for security of the temple.

The SP said there has been a dispute over this land in the past as well.