Top Hindu priest to be released from jail

NEW DELHI, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A top Hindu high priest accused of murdering a temple official was to be released from jail Tuesday, a day after the Indian Supreme Court granted him bail.

Jayendra Saraswathi, one of the most powerful Hindu priests in the world, was arrested Nov. 11 for the murder of a temple official in September.

The Supreme Court noted that the prosecution had collected no evidence to show that the priest bore ill will toward the temple official who was murdered. The Supreme Court reprimanded the police in Tamil Nadu state for having gathered "no evidence or material,"

The court order was welcomed by the supporters of the temple, and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also joined the celebration.

But hours after the court granted bail to the high priest, the Tamil Nadu police arrested the junior leader of the same powerful temple, Vijayendra Saraswati, leaving the centuries-old temple headless for the first time ever. The junior priest's arrest on the same day as the senior seer's release on bail added a dramatic twist to the murder case.

Top Hindu political leaders including Vajpayee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday night to protest the arrest of the junior priest.