He only wanted his children to live respected life: Family mourns sewadaar killed in temple assault

New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI) Living with his in-laws in Delhi and supporting his family on a pay of about Rs 5,000 from a temple, Yogendra Singh, though, had many hardships in life, but he never complained.

What kept Yogendra (35), a sewadaar at Kalkaji Temple, going was to make his son and daughter educated enough so that they could lead a better and respected life one day. On Friday night, that dream came to an end.

The sewadaar was allegedly beaten up by a group of men on Friday night after a quarrel over prasad turned violent. He was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Kaushal Singh, the victim's elder brother, who also helps at a temple, said he was outside for some work when the incident occurred. "I got a call late at night that Yogendra had been attacked. By the time I could reach the hospital, he was gone," Kaushal told PTI.

Yogendra is survived by his wife Jaya, son Krishna (8) and daughter Pari (6).

"He always said he only wanted his children to live an educated and respected life. Even though the job was not stable, as he was replaced every two months by someone else and paid so little, he was happy in the 'seva' he did for God and devotees. Now what will happen to his wife and kids? Their entire future has been shattered," Kaushal said, breaking down.

Recalling his father's death in 2017, he said that their mother has been living with each of her three sons in turns. "She is inconsolable now. My sister-in-law's entire world has turned upside down, and we don't know how to tell the children," he added.

According to the police, the quarrel broke out after some visitors demanded 'chunniprasad'.

When Singh refused, as it was over, the group allegedly dragged him outside and assaulted him with sticks, the police said, adding that the incident was captured on the CCTV camera.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said one of the accused, Atul Pandey (30), was caught on the spot by locals and handed over to the police. There were two others, Mohan alias Bhura (19) and Kuldeep Bidhuri (20), who were caught on Saturday.

As relatives wailed at his home, Kaushal's voice trembled, "This sort of injustice should not happen to anybody. He was a great man, always responsible for his family. Now the family is devastated; they have nothing left to look forward to anymore." PTI SGV AMJ AMJ