Dasna temple priest Nareshanand Saraswati stabbed in Ghaziabad, police launch probe

New Delhi: In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, unidentified assailants attacked the priest of Ghaziabad’s Dasna Devi temple and stabbed him multiple times while he was asleep.

Swami Nareshanand was sleeping inside the temple premises when he was stabbed by the attacker, police said. He was reportedly attacked with a sharp weapon and has been seriously injured.

The priest has been hospitalized at a nearby hospital and his condition is said to be serious.

“We received information that a priest had been stabbed in Dasna area. Presently, he is receiving treatment and is out of danger. We have formed teams to investigate the case. All angles are being probed,” said Dr. Iraj Raja, SP Rural Ghaziabad.

#Ghaziabad : डासना देवी मंदिर में घुसकर सो रहे साधु पर धारदार हथियार से हमला, पुलिस जांच में जुटी https://t.co/SlpJTEeBiW

— भारत समाचार (@bstvlive) August 10, 2021

According to reports, the priest hails from Bihar’s Darbhanga district and had come to Dasna temple to meet the temple convenor Swami Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, the chief priest of the temple.

The priest was attacked while he was sleeping at a cot inside the temple premises. He was reportedly attacked at 3.30 am, following which a temple staff alerted the police. The attacker is said to have fled the spot soon after stabbing the priest.

A picket of policemen guards the temple but such brazen attack inside the temple speaks volumes about the lapses. Police officials are looking into the matter and also searching CCTV footage to identify the accused. However, reports suggest that the CCTV cameras were reportedly shut.

Why the controversy over Dasna temple?

In May this year, Delhi Police Special Cell had thwarted an assassination bid on Narsinghanand Saraswati, the chief priest of the temple. A Kashmiri suspect was nabbed in May who was plotting to kill priest and was identified as Mohammad Dar alias Jahangeer.

Swami Narsinghanand Saraswati gained huge attention in March this year, when a Muslim boy was allegedly roughed up on the temple premises when he purportedly went inside to drink water. His remarks raised the hackles of Islamists, with many suspecting that he could be attacked for his views.