Video: Temple Priest Ties Boy To Tree For Eating Almonds Kept As Offering

An 11-year-old boy was allegedly tied to a tree by a priest at a Jain temple for eating almonds kept as offerings in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, the police said on Saturday.

The police took action after the video of the incident surfaced on social media where the boy was seen crying and asking for help when the priest, Rakesh Jain,  tied the boy to a tree with a rope. The incident took place inside the premises of Jain Siddaytan Mandir in Sagar's Kareela.

The priest said he suspected that the boy picked up almonds from the offerings, and he tied him to a tree so that the minor couldn't run away.

The boy and his family said that he was standing near the temple's gate and the priest got angry after he entered the temple, and allegedly beat him up. The police said there were injury marks on the minor's body.

Based on a complaint lodged by the boy's father, a case has been registered against Rakesh Jain, Moti Nagar police station in-charge Satish Singh said.

A case has been registered against the accused priest under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the matter is under investigation the official said.