Mathura: Sants of Vrindavan on Monday refused to let police cremate the members of Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena who died in the clashes with Police in Jawahar Bagh last week.
Angry over the violence that the cult unleashed on the city, seers forced the police teams to take back the bodies that had been brought to the Kesi ghat cremation ground. Cops had brought bodies of 18 of the 27 followers of the Sena who died in violence that took lives of two police officers as well.
As police tried to persuade the seers, they maintained their stand saying that the "terrorists" would not be allowed a final resting place in the holy city at any cost. A large of Hindu priests gathered at the Kesi ghat and were soon joined by local residents in the protest.
Police officers later agreed to leave Kesi ghat and arrived at Vrindavan ghat, another cremation ground in the holy city, with the intention to cremate the followers of the cult. They, however, met with similar resistance and were forced to leave.
Times of India quoted Mahant Phool Dol Das as saying, "People who are cremated in this holy place get mukti (salvation) and we don't want them to be freed of their heinous crimes." "Bodies of such people should be thrown in the jungle, as they don't deserve a proper burial," he added.
Police later cremated the 18 unidentified bodies in Mathura, after retaining their belongings and taking DNA samples.
Clashes on June 2 between followers of the group and police had left 29 dead, among them City SP Mukul Dwivedi and Station House Officer (Farah) Santosh Yadav.
Laeder of the group Ram Vriksha Yadav also died in the incident and his charred body was recovered by the police later.
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