In view of murder of sadhus and saints by their own disciples in the recent past, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the Ayodhya authorities to conduct screening of the people staying in the temples and ashrams of the religious city.
The directive was issued on a request made to the chief minister by some sadhus during his visit on Sunday.
Officials here said here on Monday that after the directive, antecedents of the people living in all the 8,000 temples of Ayodhya would be verified and the task of checking the identity cards has been started.
Recently, two disciples were arrested for the murder of Sadhu Ram Sahar Das associated with Hanumangarhi on October 19.
Guru-disciple tradition is followed in Ayodhya for centuries where the Mahant and Peethadhipati of the temple keep disciples, servants, priests, storekeepers, etc. so that it becomes easier for them to run the temple. They do not even have to take permission from anyone to do this, but after the incidents that took place in the last few months, there is panic among the saints.
A few months before the murder in Hanumangarhi, a disciple who used to visit the temple in a prestigious Peeth located at Swargadwar had committed a major theft. Some incidents of crime happened before this too in several temples.