Two bike-borne assailants called priest out before opening fire; police suspect attackers knew victim, launch manhunt
Agra: An 81-year-old retired Army man working as a priest at a Shiva temple on the premises of an ITI college under Bhaura Kalan police station limitsin Muzaffarnagar was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants on Tuesday evening, Oct 13.
Police said the assailants arrived on a motorcycle and called Bharti outside. Police suspected the attackers knew the victim as they called him out of the temple before opening fire and fleeing. Swami Devanand Bharti, originally from Gwalior, had taken up priestly duties after retiring from the Army. As he stepped out, they shot him and fled. A Provincial Rakshak Dal (PRD) jawan deployed at the college reportedly heard the gunshot. Police conducted an inquest and sent the body for postmortem. Forensic and field unit teams examined the spot and recovered a bullet that had passed through Bharti’s body, but found no weapon. Police also began verifying Bharti’s background to establish a possible motive for the murder. Saharanpur range DIG Abhishek Singh and Muzaffarnagar SSP Suraj Kumar Rai visited the crime scene. Police formed three investigation teams in addition to deploying the Special Operations Group (SOG) and surveillance unit to track down the attackers.