Kanpur: A temple priest was assaulted by a mob after a photo purportedly showing him eating non-vegetarian food went viral on social media in Kanpur.The incident took place on Sunday night at Bhuteshwar Temple at Keshavpuram, Rawatpur. Enraged by the viral photo around 50-60 people reached the temple and started calling the priest out of the temple premises. When the priest hesitated to come out, some people barged inside the temple and dragged him outside. They started questioning him about the viral photo. During this, the argument escalated and the matter turned into a physical assault.The angry mob started slapping the priest. When the priest tried to run to save himself, people chased and beat him. Women working in shops around the temple came forward to intervene. They kept pleading with the crowd to let the priest go, but the mob’s anger did not subside. The mob slapped the women as well. People said the priest was corrupting the religion. The commotion at the spot continued for about an hour.Police reached the spot after receiving information and rescued the priest from the mob, taking him to the police station. No clear information emerged about where the viral photo was taken, who clicked it, and who spread it on social media. The priest told police that some people were conspiring to get him removed from the temple. He said his old photo was edited and made viral to defame him.Prashant Giri alias Golu Pandit is the priest and mahant at Bhuteshwar Temple in Rawatpur. He lived in a room on the temple’s premises. Two days ago, a photo of him eating non-veg went viral. After the photo surfaced, people became furious and accused him of playing with religious sentiments, demanding his removal from the temple.Rawatpur police station in-charge Kamlesh Rai said, “The victim was rescued from the mob. A video of the assault has been obtained. The accused are being identified on the basis of that.”
