UP priest who predicted son for couple shot dead after they had daughter

Police arrested a father and son for shooting an elderly priest at a Muzaffarnagar temple. Investigators said the killing followed a dispute over an incorrect birth prediction and an attempt to frame a neighbour.Police arrested a father and son for shooting an elderly priest at a Muzaffarnagar temple.Muzaffarnagar,Oct 17, 2026 16:08 ISTAn 81-year-old priest was shot dead at a Shiva temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar after his prediction that a couple would have a son turned out to be wrong, police said. Police have arrested a father-son duo in connection with the murder and recovered the weapons used in the crime.The incident took place on the night of October 13 at a Shiva temple. The victim, Swami Devanand Bharti, was shot dead by two unidentified men who arrived on a motorcycle.After reaching the spot, police examined the scene and took the priest’s body for a post-mortem examination. During the investigation, officers also recovered a photograph of a local resident, Harendra, from the crime scene.Senior police officials formed multiple teams to identify and arrest the suspects. Police subsequently arrested Hashim, a resident of the village, and his son Zeeshan. They also recovered a motorcycle used in the crime, two country-made pistols and cartridges.During interrogation, the arrested father-son duo told police that Zeeshan’s wife was due to give birth around one-and-a-half months ago. According to their account, the priest had predicted that the couple would have a son. However, when the couple had a daughter, a dispute reportedly broke out between the father-son duo and the priest.The two men also had a dispute with another villager, Harendra, police said. According to the conspiracy, they decided to kill the priest and frame Harendra for the murder.As part of the plan, the accused reportedly obtained a photograph of their neighbour, Devendra, from his mobile phone. They left the photograph at the crime scene after shooting the priest on October 13, intending to make investigators believe that Devendra had visited the temple and divert suspicion towards him.The police subsequently arrested Hashim and Zeeshan and recovered the motorcycle, two country-made pistols and cartridges linked to the crime.- Ends