Lucknow: A 35-year-old man from Amethi was allegedly murdered on the premises of a village temple in Ayodhya district— nearly 55 km from the heart of the temple city.
However, police said the murder was not linked to the temple and the shrine just happened to be the site of the murder, which they attributed to a feud between two cousins.
The victim, identified as Pankaj Shukla, was sleeping on a platform outside a Hanuman temple in Bhuapur village when his throat was slit with a saw blade late Saturday night, police said.
Soon after the incident came to light, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Manoj Singh Kaka tweeted that UP was “regularly witnessing murders of saints and seers which proved that law and order under Yogi government was in bad shape”.
अयोध्या में हनुमान मंदिर के अंदर युवा का गला काटकर हत्या कर दी गयी जो बहुत पीड़ादायक है यूपी में लगातार साधु संतों की हत्याए होती है जो ये साबित कर रहा है योगी सरकार में क़ानून व्यवस्था ध्वस्त है @dgpup @IndianExpress @samajwadiparty pic.twitter.com/FTBSbUeJSx
— Manoj KAKA (@ManojSinghKAKA) July 3, 2022
Ayodhya Police said the man had been staying at the temple for the past two months. He would lay on the platform to beat the heat, and because “the temple had a fan,” they said.
Who committed the crime
The family of the victim named his paternal uncle in a complaint to Ayodhya police. However, cops claimed the real accused was Gullu Mishra, the maternal cousin of the dead man. Mishra was arrested shortly after the incident, and the saw blade — allegedly used for the murder — was recovered from a spot near his house where he had hidden it, police said.
A native of Shivratanganj village in Amethi district, the deceased, Shukla, had been staying at his maternal uncle Shyam Narayan Mishra’s house in the area for the past two months.
According to Ayodhya police, he would lay on the platform to beat the heat, and because “the temple had a fan”.
Police sources said that Shukla would intermittently visit his home in Amethi and then return to Ayodhya.
Milkipur Circle Officer Satyendra Bhushan Tiwari said that at around 6 am Sunday, locals informed the police about a dead body lying in a pool of blood on the temple premises.
“It has come to fore that the man had been staying here for the past two months. Photography and videography of the spot were done and evidence was collected. The dead body was sent for post-mortem,” he said.
Why the murder happened
Shukla’s family lodged a police complaint against his paternal uncle alleging him of murder.
Ayodhya police, however, said that Shukla was killed by his maternal cousin Gullu Mishra (22)– in whose house Shukhla had been staying.
In a press conference, Sunday afternoon — about eight hours after the body was recovered — Ayodhya SSP Shailesh Pandey said the family members lodged a written complaint in the case naming one person.
“We have, however, arrested the actual accused. He is Gullu Mishra who is the cousin of the deceased. When an inquiry was conducted into the motive, it came to fore that on Saturday night, the duo had a fight and the deceased had slapped Gullu. The accused has been a habitual drunkard. When he (Shukla) went to sleep, the accused used a saw to attack him and fled the spot. The weapon used in the case has also been recovered after Gullu was questioned,” he said.
Mishra has been arrested and an FIR has been filed against him under IPC section 302 (murder) in Kumarganj police station.
When asked about the motive of the murder, Kumarganj SHO Vivek Singh told ThePrint that the accused was envious of Shukla.
“Gullu is a drunkard and resorts to intoxication. Since Pankaj would mostly stay at his house, he was envious of him because the family members would listen to Pankaj rather than him and give him importance. Gullu didn’t like it,” he said.
The Ayodhya SSP also clarified that the death was not related to the temple.
“The only link with the temple was that he would sleep on the premises since it had a fan. There is no other link,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shukla’s family has lodged a complaint against his paternal uncle who stays in Amethi.
They cited an old dispute as the reason behind the murder, police sources said.
Shukla’s family could not be contacted for a response.
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