Click to play videoNew Delhi: Two Indian priests were brutally assaulted allegedly by Maoists inside Nepal's Pashupatinath temple on Friday.
Girish Bhatta and Raghavendra Bhatta, from the Singeri Mutt in Karnataka were brutally beaten up with iron rods; their clothes and sacred thread were torn. The duo was then dragged to the outer gate of the Pashupatinath complex.
The priests were reportedly assaulted because theyr are Indian and are carrying on an 800-year-old tradition opposed by the Maoists
The assault by suspected Maoists left one of them with a black eye and the Indian government outraged.
India's Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood lodged a strong protest with the Home Minister.
He demanded and got more security for all the five Indian priests. The head priest has now been provided a personal security officer and a platoon of armed police deployed around the temple.
Sood is expected to visit the Pashupatinath temple to assess the situation personally.
He told CNN-IBN, "I will make first hand assessment of situation. We have been told by the Nepal government that attackers are Maoists. The priests have performed rituals this morning."
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna also says he's happy with the security arrangements, adding India is aware of the Maoist threat in that country.
"We have had good relations with Nepal. In Kashi the Nepalese priests perform Puja. We do know that there is a Maoists pressure in the temple affairs there but we are in touch with the government of Nepal. We are also in touch with the Pashupatinath Area Welfare Trust. They have provided enough security to the priests," he said.
The priests at Nepal's holiest temple have lived in fear before too during the uprising against the now deposed king.
Another instance was last year when a Maoist government tried unsuccessfully to appoint Nepali priests to replace the Indians.
Moreover, Friday's brutal assault will only increase those fears
However, priests performed daily rituals as usual on Saturday morning even as suspected Maoists tried to stage a protest on the road leading up to the shrine. However, the Nepal Police succeeded in dispersing the gathering and also arrested two troublemakers.
The assault on the Indian priests also reflects the fragile relationship between the two countries.
Nepalese leaders have always been quick to fan resentment against India's so called 'big brother' policy towards Nepal.
This year Nepal's Vice President Pramanand Jha, who is of Indian origin, was criticised for taking his oath of office in Hindi, which he said was his mother tongue
Maoists have accused India of conspiring against Prachanda when New Delhi disapproved of his unilateral decision to sack the Nepal army chief.
Politicians in Terai have also accused India of fostering trouble in the region bordering Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Moreover, last year India was blamed for the devastating Kosi flood that also affected parts of Nepal.
A Bollywood film too was recently banned in Nepal after it wrongly depicted Buddha as being born in India.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.