A local goon who got out on bail recently was arrested for allegedly killing two priests and burning their bodies on a temple premises in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district Thursday morning.
Police said the accused, Sumit Singh, admitted to the crime during questioning. Police are probing allegations that he carried out the crime to grab temple property.
Shahjahanpur Superintendent of Police, Saurabh Dixit, in a statement, said police received information around 7 am of the bodies being found at the temple in Sootha village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Khudaganj police station.
The victims, Gopal Das (70) and Bihari Das (60), lived there.
Dixit said the temple’s patron, Shiv Kumar Singh, had submitted an application alleging that Sumit, who was from the same village, killed the priests and burnt their bodies to destroy evidence of the murders.
Police said villagers also claimed that Sumit regularly visited the temple and sat with the two priests. They alleged that he had been pressuring the priests to leave the temple premises so that he could live there.
Police said that during questioning, the accused admitted to having allegedly killed both priests by hitting them with an iron pipe and setting the bodies on fire.
A senior police official said that about seven criminal cases are already lodged against Sumit and he is known to be of aggressive nature. He had earlier allegedly killed some animals and attacked several village residents without provocation.
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The SP said Sumit had been in jail in a criminal case and had got out on bail recently.
Police said the priest, Gopal Das, belonged to a village a few kilometres away and had left home after his wife died about 22 years ago. The other priest, Bihari Das, was from Sootha village and became Gopal Das’s disciple about 10 years ago.
A forensic team collected evidence and the remains were sent for further examination and autopsy, Dixit added.
Bhupendra Pandey is the Resident Editor of the Lucknow edition of The Indian Express. With decades of experience in the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s journalistic landscape, he oversees the bureau’s coverage of India’s most politically significant state. His expertise lies in navigating the complex intersections of state governance, legislative policy, and grassroots social movements. From tracking high-stakes assembly elections to analyzing administrative shifts in the Hindi heartland, Bhupendra’s reportage provides a definitive lens on the region's evolution.
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