Nepal King offers animal sacrifice in Kamakhya

GUWAHATI: Ignoring a ragingcontroversy over the sacrifice of animals here, Nepal sovereign King Gyanendraperformed the now-controversial rituals at the hilltopshrine of Kamakhya on Thursday.- a ritual involvingthe sacrifice of a buffalo, a goat, a sheep, a pigeon and a duck - is a commonpractice in this temple, a high seat of.However, the issue becamecontroversial when an animal rights group lodged a "prior intimation report"with the Jhalukbari police station, tipping off the city police about the"illegality" of sacrificing an animal in a public place under the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals Act, 1960. "The Nepal monarch performed theand offered prayers, seekingthe blessings of the goddess of for fifty odd minutes. After his departure, the animals were sacrificed", templesecretary Napakanth Sharma informed. Together with Queen Komal RajyaLaxmi, the king performed the puja - a prayer for "peace and prosperity of hissubjects and himself" - with the assistance of Mrinal Sharma, the officialpriest here of the Himalayan kingdom''s ruling dynasty. Nepal''s royal priestAcharya Raghunath Aryal, who had flown in from Kathmandu ahead of the royalentourage, supervised the rituals.Prior to the sacrifices, the king''spress secretary, Mohan Bhandari Pandey, commented: "As a Hindu, it is adevotee''s duty to offer animals to the temple. Now, it is up to the templecommittee to take the final decision regarding the sacrifice." Pandey,however, denied that the puja had anything to do with the palace massacre. "Itwas a long-felt desire of the king to come here and so, we are here." PrincessPrerna was, however, "unwell" and could not make it here.King Gyanendra,who was taken around the temple premises, said inside the temple committeeoffice: "I''m overwhelmed by the warm hospitality accorded to me." Templeauthorities had presented the royal devotee with a silk, besides a small wooden modelof the Kamakhya temple specially made by a local artisan.Earlier, Assamchief minister Tarun Gogoi and governor S K Sinha received the King Gyanendraand Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi, accompanied by senior officials, at the LokapriyaGopinath Bordoloi International airport. After the Kamakhya pilgrimage,the royal entourage rested for sometime in a plush city hotel and later hadlunch at the Raj Bhawan here, before returning to Kolkata by a specialflight.Security personnel had literally laid siege to the picturesqueNilachal hills, atop which the ancient temple is situated. Three days prior tothe royal visit, army, paramilitary and police personnel had launched massivecombing operations across the hills in view of the threat perception frominsurgents.