A 35-year-old helper at the Kalkaji temple in Delhi was beaten to death by a group of men on Friday night after an argument over prasad or religious offering, The Indian Express reported.

Police have arrested five men in connection with the case.

The victim, Yogendra Singh, a resident of Fattepur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district, had served at the temple for nearly 15 years, The Times of India reported.

Police said they received a call about a quarrel at the temple around 9.30 pm.

A group of men had entered the premises for darshan and demanded chunni prasad, which includes a headscarf and blessed food, The Indian Express reported.

When Singh told them that the offering was no longer available, an argument broke out. The men left, but reportedly returned after the temple had closed.

They confronted Singh at the dharamshala, dragged him outside and assaulted him with sticks, the newspaper reported.

CCTV footage showed Singh lying on the ground as the group beat him.

He was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he died of his injuries.

A case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to murder, the Hindustan Times reported.

One of the accused, Atul Pandey (30), a resident of Dakshinpuri, was caught at the scene by locals, The Indian Express reported.

His relative Nitin Pandey (26) and Nitin Pandey’s father Anil Kumar (55) were arrested on Saturday.

Kumar was accused of helping his son evade arrest.

Two others, Mohan (19) and Kuldeep Bidhuri (20), both from Tughlaqabad, were also detained on Saturday.

According to police, the men admitted they held a grudge against Singh, alleging he had pushed them while managing crowds at the temple about a month earlier.

Siddharth Bhardwaj, general secretary of the Kalkaji Temple, called the killing “heartbreaking” and demanded swift justice, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Delhi government, describing the incident as a “failure of law and order”.

Atishi, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and MLA from Kalkaji, also condemned the incident in a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

She said: “The capital has turned into the capital of crime, extortion and gang wars under BJP rule.”

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