Temple trustee murdered in Indore’s Gurudwara:Watchman beats him to death with stick; row linked to drinking alcohol during duty hours

A 70-year-old trustee of a 150-year-old temple in Indore’s Annapurna area was beaten to death with a stick. CCTV footage of the incident has also emerged, showing the temple watchman, Mukesh Sharma, attacking Kailash Modi. Police have taken the accused into custody. According to ACP Shivendu Joshi, the incident took place at around 5:30 am on Tuesday. Mukesh Sharma, the temple watchman, is allegedly addicted to alcohol and often creates disturbances inside the temple premises while intoxicated. Modi had reportedly warned and counselled him several times in the past. On Tuesday morning, when Mukesh again arrived at the temple in an intoxicated state, Modi tried to reason with him. This allegedly enraged Mukesh, who picked up a stick and moved to attack him. Seeing this, Modi ran to save himself, but Mukesh chased and caught him a short distance away. He then repeatedly struck Modi with the stick. Bleeding heavily, Modi managed to run into a nearby gurdwara in an attempt to save his life. However, the accused followed him there and allegedly continued the assault. Reports suggest that Mukesh struck Modi 31 times on his head, arms and legs. Severe head injuries proved fatal Modi suffered serious and deep head injuries and collapsed unconscious at the scene. People present rushed him to a nearby hospital, but the injuries were so severe that he died during treatment. Gurdwara gathering masked the sounds Dilraj Chhabra, Vice-President of the gurdwara, said a spiritual gathering was underway from around 5 am. Due to the sound system being used during the event, no one initially heard the attack. He said Kailash Modi had been serving the temple for many years, while Mukesh was employed there as a watchman. According to Chhabra, there had been disputes between the two for some time, which allegedly led to the attack. Complaints against the watchman were made earlier Chhabra also claimed that several complaints had previously been submitted to authorities regarding Mukesh’s behaviour. He was accused of troubling people within the temple premises, and cases were already pending against him. During the attack, some people reportedly tried to intervene, but stepped back fearing they could also be assaulted. Kailash Modi was involved in the catering business. He is survived by four brothers and a son, Pawan.