Rajasthan Temple Priest Murder: Family Refuses to Perform Last Rites, Demands Compensation And Arrest of All Accused
Family members of a priest, who died after he was set on fire by the land mafia to encroach upon temple land in Rajasthan's Bukna village, have refused to perform last rites.
Karauli, October 10: Family members of a priest, who died after he was set on fire by the land mafia to encroach upon temple land in Rajasthan's Bukna village, have refused to perform last rites of the deceased. Relatives of priest Babulal said the Rajasthan government must provide them compensation and a job and police should arrest all people behind the murder. They refused to perform the last rites of Babulal's body until their demands are met.
"We won't perform the last rites of the body until our demands are met. We want Rs 50 lakh compensation and a government job. All accused must be arrested and the action should be taken against Patwari and policemen who are supporting the accused. We want protection," Lalit, a relative of Babulal, told news agency ANI. Babulal was set ablaze by six people on Thursday morning when the priest stopped them from installing tin sheds on his land.
The priest was taken to a health care centre in his village from where he was rushed to Jaipur's SMS hospital. He breathed his last on Thursday evening. The prime accused, identified as Kailash Meena, has been arrested by police.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Assures Action Against Culprit:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has condemned the killing of Babulal and assured stringent action against the culprits. "The murder of Babulal Vaishnav Ji in Sapotra, Karauli is extremely unfortunate and condemnable, such acts have no place in a civilized society. The Government of Madhya Pradesh stands with the mournful family in these testing times," read Gehlot tweet (roughly translated from Hindi).
No Law And Order in Rajasthan, Says BJP
"The setting ablaze of a temple priest simply shows the deteriorating law and order in the state. Criminals are least afraid of the police," BJP state president Satish Poonia said. Leader of Opposition and BJP's Gulabchand Kataria also expressed his worry. "No one seems afraid of the police in Rajasthan. Criminals' confidence can be gauged by the fact that they poured petrol on this priest in broad daylight. Fortunately, the priest gave his dying declaration or else he would have been declared to have committed suicide," Kataria said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2020 09:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).