Priest dies after being attacked by land grabbers in Rajasthan

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident and said that the main accused has been arrested, while the opposition BJP attacked the government saying the law and order has deteriorated and people are under fear in the state. The incident occurred on Wednesday in Bukna village where five accused caught the priest Babu Lal Vaishnav near an agriculture farm and set him on fire after pouring petrol on him.

A priest died after being set on fire allegedly by five people who wanted to encroach on temple land in Rajasthan's Karauli district, police said on Friday. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident and said that the main accused has been arrested, while the opposition BJP attacked the government saying the law and order has deteriorated and people are under fear in the state.

The incident occurred on Wednesday in Bukna village where five accused caught the priest Babu Lal Vaishnav near an agriculture farm and set him on fire after pouring petrol on him. He was admitted in a crucial condition to SMS hospital in Jaipur where he died on Thursday night. "The main accused, Kailash Meena, has been arrested, while another accused was rounded up," Superintendent of Police, Karauli, Mridul Kachhawa, said. The SP said a case of attempt to murder was registered at Sapotra police station and it was converted into a murder case after the death of the priest.

The accused wanted to encroach upon the land of the temple, the police said. Deputy Superintendent of Police Kaila Devi, Mahaveer Prasad, said that the body was handed over to family members on Friday.

The chief minister termed the incident extremely unfortunate and condemnable, and said the guilty would not be spared. "The Rajasthan government is with the grieving family. The main accused in the incident has been arrested and action is being taken. The guilty will not be spared," Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.

Such acts have no place in a civilised society, he said. BJP leaders in New Delhi, including Union minister Prakash Javadekar, cited the ghastly murder to attack the Congress over the recent crimes, including rapes, in the western state.

Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Javadekar said, "Instead of going to different places on political tourism, he should take cognizance of heinous crimes against women and apologise to the people of Rajasthan that their government has failed." Action should be taken against the culprits, he said. "Law and order in Rajasthan has gone for a toss," the minister alleged referring to the Karauli incident.

The BJP leaders in the state charged that the law and order situation has worsened in the state under Congress rule. "There is no fear of law among criminals who are roaming freely under Congress rule. People are living in fear while criminals have no fear. This is the situation when the chief minister himself is holding the home portfolio," BJP state president Satish Poonia told reporters.

Poonia also formed a three-member committee which will visit Sapotra. "The fact-finding committee comprises Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra, party's national secretary and former MLA Alka Gurjar and former state president of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha Jitendra Meena. The committee will visit Sapotra and submit a report to the state president," BJP spokesperson and MLA Ramlal Sharma said.  Condemning the incident, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said in a statement that the way the crime graph is rising in the state, it is clear that no woman, child, elderly person or Dalit is safe in the state.

"The Congress government of the state should now wake up from slumber and get the family justice by strictly punishing the culprits," she said. Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the police have already caught the main accused.

Vaishnav's family members have demanded action against the SHO, investigation by a deputy SP rank official, compensation and government job for a family member..