Triple murder fallout: Karnataka Govt to open temple Hundis once a month

Bengaluru: A day after the shocking triple-murder case involving priests in Mandya, Muzarai (Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment) minister, Srinivasa Poojari on Saturday said the government will take steps to open temple hundis once a month to avoid such tragedies.

Superintendent of Police, K Parshuram said the police has formed special teams to probe into the murder and circumstantial evidence indicates that it was murder for gain. "Based on our clues we are tracking a nomadic gang, we have kept close watch on the movements, I am hopeful that culprits will be nabbed soon," he added. Speaking to reporters after handing-over the Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia cheque to family members of the deceased in Mandya, Poojari directed Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri to take steps to repair dysfunctional CCTV cameras inside and outside temple premises. The Muzarai department opens the Hundis once in three months and collect the accumulated cash offerings.

But in the case of Arkeshwara temple, located on the outskirts of Mandya city, the Hundi hadn't been opened for the last 10 months. As a result the 'hundi' contained a huge cash collection. The hundis are opened especially in presence of Muzarai deparment's assistant commissioner which is a must for an "A" category temple while a Tehsildar's presence is required in "B" category temples. A officer said the irony of the deceased priests is that they get a chance to be priests for two-days in a year. "The Arkeshwara temple has a custom that a family which performs the first pooja is only entitled to carry out pooja in this temple. Over the centuries the family has grown to such an extent, each of the family members get only two or three days in a year to be the priests of this temple," the source explained.