Police said a report revealed the attacker was mentally unstable and was loitering around for a week before the incident
A 62-year-old wrestler turned priest Somai Ram of a temple in northeast Delhi’s Sonia Vihar was beaten to death by a man. The accused reportedly used to loiter around the temple and threw trash on the priest on Wednesday morning.
The accused identified as Sonu Bhatt, was a 21-year-old man was later assaulted by the public. He suffered serious injuries and was immediately taken to a hospital. The police said, his condition is serious. Though Bhatt’s motives for the murder are yet to be determined, police probed if an argument or altercation took place between the two.
The victim’s son said the attack happened around 5:30 am on Wednesday. Ram’s son Raja said, “My brothers and I rushed to the temple and found our father unconscious and bleeding from the head…”
Police suspect that the priest might have caught Bhatt stealing from the temple and threatened to report him to the police, which prompted Bhatt to attack him.
The priest, Somai Ram’s family has however alleged a conspiracy against him. That Bhatt might have murdered Ram to gain command of the temple.
The entire attack was recorded on two CCTV cameras installed at the Lord Hanuman and Shiva temples. The two clips from CCTV are circulating on social media and have gone viral. Police said in one clip the man could be seen attacking the priest with a metal mace. A third person holding a broom, identified by locals as the sweeper, was seen rushing to rescue Ram.
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