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India News | 5 Arrested for Allegedly Misbehaving with Pilgrims, Extorting Money Near Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. According to police, the accused allegedly approached pilgrims and visitors in the name of facilitating easy darshan at the temple and extorted money from them.

India News | 5 Arrested for Allegedly Misbehaving with Pilgrims, Extorting Money Near Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Five people arrested for misbehaving with pilgrims (Photo/ Varanasi police)

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 20 (ANI): Five people were arrested for allegedly misbehaving with pilgrims and tourists and extorting money from them on the pretext of arranging easy darshan at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, police said.

The arrests were made by the Chowk Police on August 19 near Gate No. 4 of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple based on CCTV footage and information from a local informant.

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According to police, the accused allegedly approached pilgrims and visitors in the name of facilitating easy darshan at the temple and extorted money from them.

The action was carried out as part of the ongoing campaign launched by the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, against crime and wanted and absconding accused.

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Police said the accused were arrested under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and further legal proceedings are underway.

The arrested accused have been identified as Lal Babu Pandey (35) of Deoria, Bihar; Ashish Pandey (24) of Lahartara, Varanasi; Dilip Pandey (44) of Sujabad, Varanasi; Yash Dubey (20) of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh; and Sushil Kumar Das (21) of Darbhanga, Bihar.

The arrests were made near Gate No. 4 of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the Chowk area on August 19. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)