Mumbai, March 23 Ten priests of the Jotiba Temple in Kolhapur and 15 devotees have been booked after the two sides clashed, a police official said on Monday.
The priests have been booked for assaulting devotees after a temple palanquin faced obstruction on Sunday afternoon, the Kodoli police station official added. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
"Devotees from the Karveer village had come to the temple with a 'shasan kathi', a sacred stick used in religious processions. While these devotees were dancing, a temple palanquin, which was on its way, faced obstruction. When the priests tried to stop these devotees from dancing and clear the way for the palanquin, a clash ensued," the official said.
"The fracas involved devotees manhandling the priests, who then retaliated. The clash ended with the intervention of the village head, who submitted a written apology to the temple. A case has been registered against 15 devotees and 10 priests under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing disturbance and other offences," he said.
A notice has been issued to all those named in the case, and further investigation is underway, the official said.
