Priest held for stopping Dalit girl from entering temple in MP's Khargone
India Today
A video of the incident went viral on social media, following which the Khargone police arrested the priest and booked two others.
Khargone police on Friday arrested the priest of a Shiva temple in Temla village for stopping a Dalit girl from entering the premises on Shivratri day.
The action came after a video of the incident in which the temple priest and some women are seen preventing the girl from entering the temple went viral on social media.
Members of the Dalit community also marched in large numbers to the district SP’s office on Thursday, seeking action against the accused.
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District SP Sidharth Chaudhary, while confirming the arrest of the temple priest, said that two other people identified from the video have been booked in the same case. “The priest identified as Vijay Barve has been arrested while the other accused are absconding,” Chaudhary said.
The girl, in her statement to the police, said that she was prevented from entering the temple premises on Shivratri day, despite her telling the accused that her constitutional rights were being violated. “I told them that I wish to do pooja inside the temple, but they did not let me enter because I am a Dalit. I even threatened legal action against them, but they were adamant,” the victim said.
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