In what comes as a shocking development, three priests have been killed by a gang of robbers in the temple of Mandya district of Karnataka. Reportedly, the priests were sleeping inside the temple and the assailants started to pelt stones and boulders at them.
All three of them, succumbed to their injuries after robbers received a bid to carry out a heist in the temple.
However, the culprits have not yet been arrested by the police. It is being suspected by the officials that the gang came to loot the temple of its assets.
According to police, the priests of Arakeshwara temple were killed by the gang, which fled away with currency notes in the donation box.
Interestingly, the coins in the box were found intact. The incident took place on Thursday night when the priests, who lived on the temple premises, were asleep when the gang broke in.
All senior police officials, including the Inspector General of police, reached the spot and conducted inquiries. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa condoled the death of the three men and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh next to the kin of each of the deceased.
In a tweet, Yediyurappa said, "It is very disturbing to learn that the priests of the Arakeshwara temple in Mandya Ganesh, Prakash and Anand have been murdered by the burglars. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh per family of slain temple priests will be given. Immediate legal action will be initiated against the guilty."