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Photographs of expelled UP BJP leader Dayashankar Singh, who has a non-bailable warrant against him for his remarks against BSP supremo Mayawati, visiting a Shiva temple in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district have surfaced on social media. Singh’s family had earlier claimed that there were not aware of his whereabouts.
The priest who helped Dayashankar with the darshan and also uploaded the picture on Facebook told The Indian Express that he was only doing his job. Deoghar SP A Vijayalakshmi said: “We did not have information about any such person wanted in a case. Uttar Pradesh police had not informed us”.
BJP’s district president Diwakar Gupta said he too was unaware of Singh’s visit. “We had no information of his visit. He came, had a darshan and left on his own. We have absolutely nothing to do with his visit,” he said. Sources said none of the people seen with Dayashankar were associated with any party.
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After the priest uploaded the picture on Facebook, local media began queries. The photos were reportedly removed from the priest’s Facebook account later. “We have come to know that Dayashankar came and left quietly. The priest who uploaded the photograph seemed to be unaware that he had a case against him,” said a local journalist. Abhishek Kumar Mishra, the priest, said: “I am a priest and my job is to help people with the darshan. Singh comes every year to offer ‘jal’. I prayed for him like I do for everybody else.”
Asked whether he knew that Singh was involved in a case and had a warrant against him, he said: “I am only concerned with the devotees and their prayers.” Reacting to reports of Dayashankar visiting the Deoghar temple, IG, Lucknow Zone, A Satish Ganesh, said: “As far as his presence at a religious place is concerned, we are trying to identify those in the photographs.”