Meerut, Oct. 2 -- Two ascetics were allegedly murdered and their bodies set on fire inside a Shiva temple in Shahjahanpur district. Police detained a local man following allegations that he wanted the two men to leave the temple and sought exclusive control over the land around the shrine, officials said on Thursday. The incident took place at a Shiva temple in Sutha village under Khudaganj police station. Villagers noticed smoke rising from the temple at around 7 am on Thursday and rushed to the spot. They found the body of one ascetic still burning, while the other had been reduced to a skeleton. The deceased were identified as Gopal Das, 70, and Bihari Das, 60. Both had been living in the temple. According to villagers, Gopal Das of Azizganj locality was a storyteller and had been living at the temple for nearly 20 years. Bihari Das of Sutha village had earlier lived at the local Thakur Ji temple. Around a month ago, he became Gopal Das's disciple and subsequently began staying with him in the Shiva temple. Gopal Das's elder brother, Ramdulare, said his brother was the second among four siblings. Pradeep Singh, nephew of Bihari Das, alleged that a local man, Sumeet, was responsible for the murders. He alleged that Sumeet had attacked the two ascetics several times in the past. Dragpal, who used to clean the temple, said he reached the premises around 7 am and found the bodies burning. "I had not met them at night. I had last seen them around 3 pm on Wednesday, after which I went home," he said. Villagers alleged that Sumeet had been released from jail around a month ago and wanted the ascetics to leave the temple so that he could take control of the land around it. They claimed the two ascetics had opposed his attempts. Temple caretaker Shiv Kumar Singh submitted a complaint in connection with the incident. SP (rural) Diksha Bhavre said police received information through the police response vehicle. "When Khudaganj police reached the spot, the bodies were found severely burnt. The suspect, Sumeet, has been detained and is being questioned," she said. SSP Saurabh Dixit said that for the past few days, Sumeet had been spending time and staying at the shrine with the two ascetics. "Villagers initially confirmed that Sumeet had, on one occasion, told the two ascetics, 'Both of you should leave this place. I am going to stay here now. I will have exclusive control over this place,'" Dixit said. Prima facie, the police suspect that the incident occurred late on Wednesday night. Police and forensic teams are collecting physical evidence from the scene. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination....