This story is from September 12, 2020

Karnataka: Robbers kill 3 priests inside Mandya temple

Three priests were bludgeoned to death in the courtyard of Sri Arakeshwara Temple in Guttallu village near Mandya, 100km from Bengaluru, by a gang of robbers in the early hours of Friday.
Karnataka: Robbers kill 3 priests inside Mandya temple
Representative image
MANDYA: Three priests were bludgeoned to death in the courtyard of Sri Arakeshwara Temple in Guttallu village near Mandya, 100km from Bengaluru, by a gang of robbers in the early hours of Friday.
Police said the priests’ heads were crushed with boulders. The gang broke open three hundis (donation boxes) and made away with cash offerings. The assailants also ransacked the sanctum sanctorum.
Ganesh, 49, Prakash, 50 and Anand, 40, were cousins and served as priests. “Since they were also caretakers of the temple property, they used to sleep on the premises,” a police officer said.The killings came to light when villagers found the temple door half open on Friday morning.
Cries may have gone unheard
Since the temple is located on the outskirts of Mandya and far away from residential areas, their cries for help may have gone unheard. “There were more than three assailants. Looting cash and valuables appears to have been their motive,” police said.
Mandya police suspect a gang from neighbouring Channapatna. “They were recently released from jail after they got bail. In a similar case last year, a priest and another man sleeping inside a temple at Toppanahalli in Maddur taluk were murdered. There are similarities in the modus operandi of Friday’s triple murders and other temple heist cases in the region. We formed special teams to nab the culprits. We’re also investigating the involvement of other habitual offenders,” an officer said.
CM BS Yediyurappa condoled the death of the priests and announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each. He said the culprits would be arrested soon. District minister KC Narayanagowda visited the temple and met the priests’ kin.
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