A video of Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s family priest being thrashed by police has surfaced on social media and is going viral.
The Bachchan's family priest, who has also reportedly performed 'pujas' for the Gandhi family, was allegedly beaten up during a scuffle between priests and the police at the Vindhyavasini temple in Vindhyachal area.
The clash between police and the priests erupted after some policemen escorted the Chandauli district magistrate and his family to the temple to perform prayers despite the weekend lockdown. Seeing the DM entering the temple premise, the priests also expressed their willingness to perform the puja to which the police officers at the spot opposed.
No case has been filed in the incident so far.
Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Verma denied the incident and said that no policeman escorted any official for performing puja in the temple.
"A priest performed darshan puja and when Amit Pandey started taking other visitors for the darshan puja which the police objected to," Verma said.
Meanwhile, Sumit Pandey, brother of the priest, told reporters, "Police deliberately did this. Protesting priests are also implicated in false cases. We are very respected in the community."
He said that his brother regularly performed 'puja' for the Bachchan family.
Rajan Pathak, former president of Panda Samaj, also condemned the incident and said that every worshipper is equal in the eyes of the almighty. He also said that the temple does not discriminate against anyone.
With inputs from IANS