Bihar Man Stabbed at Dasna Devi Temple: FIR Filed, No Arrests So Far

In the knife attack on Bihar man at Dasna Devi Temple in Ghaziabad on Tuesday, 10 August, the police has registered an FIR under section 323 and 307 (attempt to murder) at Masuri police station based on the complaint of a close aide of temple chief priest Yati Narsinghanand.

The complainant, Anil Yadav, has alleged that assailants wanted to kill Narsinghanand but instead attacked the guest, in saffron attire, who had come down from Bihar.

"The assailants scaled the wall and barged into the campus. Swami Nareshnand, a guest sadhu from Bihar was sleeping on the bed where, generally, Yati Narsinghanand rests. After spotting saffron clothes, the assailants attacked in an attempt to kill Yati Narsinghanand," an excerpt in the complaint read.

Meanwhile, the local police is yet to ascertain the identity of the attacker. No arrests have been made so far, Ghaziabad police said.

Senior cops investigating the case had earlier claimed that the CCTV cameras in the temple premises were defunct and footages of CCTVs in the vicinity are being scanned to trace the perpetrators.

The victim, Swami Nareshnand, 52, a resident of Samastipur in Bihar, had come down to Ghaziabad to attend BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay's controversial function at Jantar Mantar, temple authorities claimed.

He was attacked with a paper cutter knife and sustained grievous injuries in the neck and abdomen. Nareshnand is currently recuperating post surgery at a private hospital in the city and his condition is claimed to be stable.

Questions Over Breach in Security

The sprawling temple campus spread over 25 acres is walled with varying height at several places. Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) is deployed at the main entrance gate of the temple while local police looks after the security inside.

Yati Narsinghanand, following alleged threats and attacks in the recent past, had been given four gunners by the local administration. Despite all the security measures in place, it remains to be figured out yet as to how an assailant got into the premises and later escaped after the attack without being noticed.

Secondly, police during the preliminary probe in the case had claimed the CCTVs inside the temple premises were defunct. With all the threat perception against the controversial priest, there are no answers to the defunct CCTVs and why was it not brought to the attention of the local police or the temple administration.