Local goons force woman to sell temple' in Ghazipur
Shakuntala has alleged that she has approached the jurisdictional police many times but to no avail.
New Delhi: In a bizarre case, a temple situated in Ghazipur in Delhi sent shockwaves among devotees when they came to offer prayers on Friday. Atop the main entrance of the temple, it was written ‘Yeh Mandir Bikau Hai’ (This temple is for sale). It is alleged that the woman priest who has turned her home into a temple is getting threats from the local goons.
The temple, which belongs to a 62-year-old woman named Shakuntala, has alleged that the local goons have been giving her a harrowing time. The senior citizen, who has been living in Ghazipur since the past 25 years, is unmarried and had transformed her house into a temple after the locals persuaded her to do so. Shakuntala has alleged that she has approached the jurisdictional police many times but to no avail. According to her, since she has turned her house into a temple, a few anti-social elements in the area have been troubling her and threaten her to not run the temple. She also said that the miscreants have asked her to leave the area and run away. The 62-year-old lady even brought the matter in the notices of policemen but nothing changed. Unable to take the torture, the lone woman finally decided to sell out the temple.
Shakuntala to avoid any untoward incident put out a notice on the temple’s entrance, which read, ‘Yeh Mandir Bikau Hai’. The news spread like a wildfire when the devotees who flock the temple were in a fix when they read the notice. The locals now are a harried lot, as they believe that Shakuntala shouldn’t sell the temple as many have emotions attached with it. “If the temple will be moved away from here or will get close where will we go to offer prayers? The temple has been here for years,” said a local.
When contacted police, the officials said that they are unaware about the matter and have not received any compliant about the same. However, they will look into the matter.
Meanwhile, according to village head, Veer Singh Mulla, the temple is the private property of Shakuntala and she has put it out on sale for personal reasons.