Overview

• The incident occurred Monday evening during aarti at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple near Pipraich railway station in Gorakhpur.
• Police identified the suspect as 35-year-old Umesh Yadav, whom residents subdued and handed over after assaulting him.
• Officers say Yadav kept changing his statements, at one point alleging a local meat vendor told him to act, a claim under verification.
• A crowd later gathered at the police station demanding additional arrests, and police said they calmed the group with assurances of action.
• Officials noted Yadav had recently returned from Hyderabad, and the investigation into motive and any accomplices remains underway.