36 Bhimashankar temple priests booked for assaulting each other

Mumbai: Bhimashankar temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country, witnessed ugly scenes as two groups of priests came to blows against each other allegedly over a dispute on performing Pooja rituals. Police have registered cases against 36 priests of the temple in this regard.

The video of the incident has gone viral on social media, in which priests are seen engaged in a heated exchange and abusing each other. They also assaulted each other with iron rods and wooden sticks within the premises of the Bhimashankar temple, which is located in Khed tehsil of Pune district.

According to sources, there has a dispute between the two groups of priests over offering flowers and abhishek to the revered Shivling in the Bhimashankar temple and the nearby Shani temple. On Monday afternoon, it escalated into a conflict as priests from one of the groups forcibly tried to stop the other faction priests from performing Pooja and evict them. It resulted into an altercation with priests from both sides coming to blows and assaulting each other.

Following the fight, cases have been registered against a total of 36 priests from both sides.

As per the complaint filed by Shankar Gangaram Kaudre, a 65-year-old resident of Kharoshi in the Khed taluka, 21 people have been booked, whereas an additional case has been registered against 15 individuals from the opposing group, based on the complaint of Goraksh Yashwant Kaudre, a resident of Bhimashankar in the Khed taluka.

Though the situation is tense, it is under control, said a police official from the Khed rural police station.

Suresh Kaudre, the chief of Bhimashankar Devasthan, said, "We will try to find an amicable solution within both the groups on the dispute, but high-handed attitude will not be tolerated from any side."