'Corona mata' temple built at UP village, demolished

People at Juhi Shukulpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh built a "corona mata" temple, seeking divine grace to stay clear of the infection.

However, the temple built on June 7 was demolished on Friday night.

Villagers alleged that it was demolished by police, which denied the charge, saying it was constructed on a disputed site and one of the parties involved in the dispute razed it.

Villagers said the temple was constructed five days ago by Lokesh Kumar Srivastava with the help of donations from local residents.

He installed the idol of the "corona mata". Radhey Shyam Verma of the village was appointed its priest, after which people started offering prayers there.

Lokesh, who lives in Noida, jointly owns the land with Nagesh Kumar Srivastava and Jai Prakash Srivastava. He left the village for Noida after the temple was constructed.

Nagesh in his complaint to police said the temple was constructed to grab the land.

Sangipur police station SHO Tushardutt Tyagi said the temple was built on a disputed land and was razed by one of the parties involved in the dispute.

The matter is being investigated, police said.