New Delhi: A 35-year-old sewadaar at southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji Temple was allegedly beaten to death after a quarrel with visitors, police said on Saturday. One accused has been arrested in connection with the case.

Officials said that a call regarding the incident was received at the police control room around 9.30 pm on Friday.

According to police, the confrontation began when the visitors demanded ‘chunniprasad’—a sacred headscarf along with food offering—from the sewadaar, Yogendra Singh, a native of Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh.

The argument escalated into violence as the group allegedly assaulted Singh with fist blows and sticks, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.

Singh, who had been serving at the Kalkaji Temple for the past 14 to 15 years, was rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he succumbed to injuries during treatment, an officer said.

A case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (joint liability) has been registered at Kalkaji police station, the officer said.

“One of the accused, identified as Atul Pandey (30), a resident of Dakshinpuri, was caught on the spot by the locals and handed over to the police,” he added.

Police said efforts are underway to identify and nab the remaining accused.

PTI