Priests’ attire and tilak on forehead— Varanasi police personnel posted at Kashi Vishwanath Temple sport a makeover

Varanasi Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal said the initiative has been rolled out for a 15-day trial period, after which it will be reviewed. This was tested in 2018 as well, but was discontinued after the trial period.

“We need to ensure that devotees feel respected, especially during times of large gatherings and visits of VIPs,” Agarwal said.

Currently, only the four male police personnel stationed at the four gates of the sanctum sanctorum have been wearing the dhotis and kurtas, but a senior officer said the four female police personnel stationed with them will also start wearing kurtas soon. More police personnel have been stationed 15 metres away from the gates, but they continue to wear khaki uniforms.

The move, started earlier this week, faced criticism from the Opposition, with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav saying in a post on X: “According to which police manual is it correct for policemen to be dressed as priests? Those who give such orders should be suspended. If tomorrow any thug takes advantage of this and loots the innocent public, then what answer will the UP government and administration give? Condemnable!”

However, a senior police officer said the aim is to “enrich the overall visitor experience and dispel any negative perceptions associated with police presence”.

The officer said that when there are lengthy queues, it could cause agitation among devotees, and “to mitigate this, the deployed police personnel should exhibit a friendly demeanour”. “Devotees often regard actions by temple priests more positively,” the officer said.

A comprehensive three-day communication skills training programme is also underway for the police personnel deployed at the temple.

Police chief Agarwal said ropes would be used to demarcate the queueing area, instead of physical intervention to guide devotees inside the temple.

“Officers will refrain from physically relocating devotees or disrupting queues for VIP movements,” he said.

Around 800 police personnel of various ranks are stationed for security at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple on a rotational basis, with approximately 250 deployed at any given time. Currently, the temple attracts around five lakh devotees every day.