New Indian priests perform rituals at Pashupatinath temple

Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Sep 5 (PTI) Unfazed by the attack on them by
a group of Maoists demanding their replacement by locals,
two newly-appointed Indian priests at the famous Pashupatinath
temple here on Saturday performed the daily rituals at the 5th
century Hindu shrine.

Girish Bhatta and Raghavendra Bhatta, both 32, were
severely thrashed yesterday by some 40-50 Maoists, who entered
the shrine posing as devotees. The priests' clothes and sacred
threads were also torn by the former rebels.

The priests, hailing from Karnataka, today offered
prayers and carried out other daily rituals at the temple,
where Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood and Nepal's Cultural
Minister Sarat Singh Bhandari were also present.

Sood assured the priests of all cooperation while the
Nepal Minister said that adequate security would be provided
to them to prevent a repeat of Friday's incident.

One of the priests had suffered a black eye during the
attack. Police had arrested two attackers, including the one
leading the group.

The policemen with the help of local people had rescued
the duo, who were recently brought here by temple authorities,
said Shiva Sharan Raj Bhandari, a temple aide and part of a
three-member selection committee that recommended their names.

Taking a serious view of the incident, Sood took it up
Friday night with Nepal Home Minister Bhim Bahadur Rawal and
Culture Minister Bhandari who assured him that steps will be
taken to ensure safety of the priests. PTI