50-year-old priest 'sacrifices' 24-year-old wife at temple

July 2, 2014

Dindori/Indore, Jul 2: A priest killed his tribal wife who was half his age in the name of sacrifice in Bagulamukhi temple in Kurara village of Dindori district.

Sacrifices wife
The incident occurred on Saturday night when Satyanand, 50, tied his wife Manju Shyam, 24, with a rope and killed her ostensibly to seek the blessings of Goddess Bagulamukhi.

The victim Manju Shyam is from the family of famous tribal painter Jangarh Singh Shyam who lives in Patan village under Dindori police station.

The incident came to light on Sunday evening when the victim 's father Jai Jodhan Singh got a call from the suspect. The real identity of the priest is yet to be ascertained as he was living in the name of Satyanand in the temple.

“We have launched a hunt for the accused. The exact reason for the killing is yet to be investigated,” said SP Dindori Ram Ashray Chaubey.

The residents of nearby villages claimed the priest came to the village about four years ago and started living in the temple without disclosing his real identity.

Mayank Singh Shyam, son of Jangarh Singh Shyam, who lives in Bhopal, while talking to Hindustan Times on the phone said, “We are shocked by the incident. This is height of brutality.

An innocent girl of my family was killed. We demand immediate arrest of the killer.” Residents said the priest also looted the jewellery of the temple and Manju 's ornaments after beheading her.

The weapon is yet to be traced. The SP, however, denied any loot. Ram Krishna Dhruve, a local artist, said the priest then went to the victim 's parents and urged them to get their daughter married to him. Since the family was financially weak, both were married about three months ago.

“Later, after protests from other family members, when Jai Jodhan, the father of the girl, went to temple to bring her back, she refused to go with him. The priest always used to lock her in a room of the temple,” said Dhruve. On Saturday night, a mass feast was organised by the priest and after that he tied the victim to a log and beheaded her.

“He then took all the jewellery and fled. On getting the information, the victim 's father reached the temple and found her beheaded body,” said Dhruve.

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News Network
December 19,2025

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru CEN police have arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly posting provocative and misleading content on an Instagram page named “mr_a_titude”, targeting the Bajpe police.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H identified the arrested as Abhishek M, a resident of Katipalla in Mangaluru.

A case has been registered at the Bajpe Police Station under Sections 353(1)(c), 353(2), 56, and 57 read with Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with the post.

According to police, the accused uploaded a photograph of a hotel on the Instagram page and alleged that accused persons in a murder case under the Bajpe police jurisdiction were being given “royal treatment” by the police, including being served beef meals daily from the hotel.

The post further accused the police of supporting criminals, misusing their authority, and betraying public trust. Police said the content was provocative in nature and aimed at inciting public outrage against the police.

Following the post, a case was registered at the Bajpe police station, and further investigation was transferred to the CEN police station.

Police records indicate that the accused has a criminal history, with multiple cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, assault, and robbery at the Surathkal Police Station, and one case at the Kaup Police Station.

The Commissioner said the accused was traced and arrested using technical evidence.

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