Varanasi court registers complaint against Kashi Vishwanath Temple SDM over alleged misbehaviour with devotees

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 20 (ANI): A local court in Varanasi has registered a complaint case against Kashi Vishwanath Temple Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Shambhusharan following a complaint filed by a devotee alleging misbehaviour with devotees on the temple premises.
The matter was heard in the court of Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Sudhakar Rai, which ordered the formal registration of the complaint. The court has scheduled November 3 for recording the complainant's statement.
In its procedural order, the court also noted that the accused official will be given an opportunity to be heard before any decision is taken regarding the issuance of a summons.
According to the complaint filed by devotee Babulal Sonkar, the alleged incident took place in the early hours of February 16, 2026, at around 12:30 AM, when Sonkar, along with his friend Anuj Pandey, visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple for darshan.
The complainant alleged that SDM Shambhusharan was present inside the temple complex, accompanied by private bouncers, misbehaving with devotees at the temple.
A month earlier, in a separate incident, five people were arrested for allegedly misbehaving with pilgrims and tourists and extorting money from them on the pretext of arranging easy darshan at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, police said.
The arrests were made by the Chowk Police on August 19 near Gate No. 4 of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple based on CCTV footage and information from a local informant.
According to police, the accused allegedly approached pilgrims and visitors in the name of facilitating easy darshan at the temple and extorted money from them.
The action was carried out as part of the ongoing campaign launched by the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, against crime and wanted and absconding accused.
Police said the accused were arrested under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and further legal proceedings are underway.
The arrested accused have been identified as Lal Babu Pandey (35) of Deoria, Bihar; Ashish Pandey (24) of Lahartara, Varanasi; Dilip Pandey (44) of Sujabad, Varanasi; Yash Dubey (20) of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh; and Sushil Kumar Das (21) of Darbhanga, Bihar.
The arrests were made near Gate No. 4 of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the Chowk area on August 19. (ANI)