5 arrested in UP priests' killing

Five people have been arrested in connection with the killing of two sadhus in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district last week, police said.

The incident had happened inside a temple in Kudarkot area -- around 180 km west of Lucknow -- on the intervening night of last Tuesday and Wednesday. It had triggered violence, with a mob setting some shops ablaze and pelting stones, forcing the police to fire in the air. The situation was brought under control after heavy deployment of security personnel.

Five people -- Salman, Nadeem, Shahzad, Majnu and Jabbar -- were arrested late last night, while eight others are still absconding, said a statement issued by the office of the UP director general of police.

During interrogation, it was revealed that the men had allegedly killed the priests as the latter had, in the past, passed off information that resulted in the arrest of the accused's family members and relatives for suspected cow slaughter, the statement said.

They had also broken the lock of the temple's donation box to paint the entire incident as a loot, it added.