The Chowk Police on Sunday arrested eight individuals who posed as priests to allegedly defraud devotees at Kashi Vishwanath Temple by promising out-of-turn darshan services for a fee.
According to ACP Atul Anjan Tripathi, complaints about illegal darshan services prompted the police to gather evidence. Using CCTV footage and a tip-off, authorities identified and arrested the accused:
Murlidhar Pandey
Ritesh Pandey
Ram Babu Pandey
Vijay Tiwari
Harsh Pandey
Kaju Pandey
Vinayak Pandey
Akash Pandey
They were booked on charges of misbehaving with devotees and extorting money in the name of providing priority darshan. Police investigations revealed that the accused were systematically offering these services to visitors in exchange for cash, exploiting the religious sentiments of devotees.
