2 found murdered on temple premises

The blood-soaked bodies of Dasappa (60) and Subbegowda (62) were found on the temple premises on Friday morning.

Subbegowda of Attahalli in T Narsipur taluk had come to the temple late on Thursday night for puja and stayed there overnight. Another victim, Dasappa, was residing in the temple for the past few days.

According to temple worker Manchamma (65), she woke up to the screams of the two elderly men who were killed around 3 am. She saw an armed gang that also attacked her before robbing her gold chain, finger ring, ear studs and Rs 300 in cash.

The robbers also took away Rs 4,000 belonging to the temple priest Ananda, which was kept in the kitchen. Hearing Manchamma scream, Ananda locked the sanctum sanctorum from inside and informed the Bannur police over the phone.

Police suspect it could be the same gang behind Friday’s incident that had earlier deployed a similar modus operandi while raiding a temple at Karigatta in Srirangapatna taluk and brutally murdering three of a family at a farmhouse in Ramapura in Kollegal taluk recently.

However, Mahadev, a resident of the village, claimed that it was a premeditated murder, and held Nagaraj, who is residing in the temple claiming to be a seer for the past 20 years, responsible for the murder.

Reacting to the allegation, Nagaraj said it was a conspiracy hatched to defame him.
Medical Education and District In-charge Minister S A Ramdas, Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta, Assistant Commissioner Bharathi, Tahsildar Shylaja and others visited the spot.