Man attacks Pushkar temple priest for allegedly not allowing President Kovind to enter sanctum

A man disguised as a devotee has attacked a priest of the Brahma temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan for allegedly not allowing President Ram Nath Kovind to enter the sanctum sanctorum, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, Ashok Meghwal, stood in a queue and attacked the priest Mahadevpuri as soon as his turn came to offer prayers. According to Pushkar station incharge Mahaveer Sharma, Meghwal, who claims to be a doctor, was mentally unstable.

The President on a recent trip to Pushkar offered prayers on the temple's doorstep since his wife had a knee problem.

However, a few miscreants circulated messages on WhatsApp that Kovind was not being permitted to enter the temple premises.

The attack was caught on camera and the footage went viral where the accused is seen waving his sharp-edged weapon for a few minutes scaring other devotees.

This attack has raised several questions on the security arrangements of the temple where each and every devotee needs to go through a metal detector test to enter the premises.

*This article was updated at 3.05 pm on May 29, 2018 to correct the headline