Chief priest accuses UP minister of encroaching upon temple land; minister denies

Deoria (UP), Aug 19 (PTI) The chief priest of a Hanuman temple here on Tuesday staged a sit-in, accusing Uttar Pradesh Minister Vijay Lakshmi Gautam of illegally encroaching on the shrine's land.

The minister, however, denied the allegations, saying a revenue survey has not found any encroachment on the temple land.

Mahant Rajesh Narayan Das alleged that a forged sale deed was used to occupy the temple's western portion. He claimed the district administration failed to act under political pressure, and demanded that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath send a probe team to protect the temple land.

Joint Magistrate Shruti Sharma and Circle Officer Sanjay Reddy reached the sit-in spot and assured the chief priest of conducting an inquiry, following which the mahant called off his protest.

Refuting the allegations, Gautam told PTI that her reputation was being maligned. She said a revenue survey had earlier found no encroachment on the temple land.

She said a gate was installed on the land which belonged to her, adding that no temple land was encroached upon. PTI COR ABN ABN NSD NSD