In a shocking incident reported, a 64-year-old priest was found hanging from a pole near a temple in Rae Bareli.
Deceased Swami Premdas, priest of Ram Janki temple in Baba ka Purva, was killed allegedly by four people on Tuesday night.
Based on a complaint of Mahant Mauni Baba, a case was registered against four people, including Bajinath Maurya who was involved in a dispute over possession of a land belonging to the temple.
The complainant said Maurya was associated with the land mafia, and was involved in the murder of the earlier priest of the temple, Swami Satyanarain Das.
Mauni Baba alleged that Maurya had encroached upon a piece of temple land and construction was going on there.
According to a report in a leading publication, the Panchsheel University was being illegally run on the temple land. This manager of the university is BN Maurya, who is related to BJP leader Swami Prasad Maurya. A local court had recently ordered evacuation of the temple premises.