'There are Nepali priests at the Badrinath, Kedarnath and Kashi shrines of India.

'The priests who offer the daily aarti (ritual of lamps) at the Dashashwamedha Ghat in Varanasi are Nepalis.'

The priests - Girish Bhatta and Raghavendra Bhatta, who were appointed from India's Karnataka state Wednesday, were Friday attacked, stripped naked and beaten up inside the temple by a mob that came in the guise of worshippers.

While Girish Bhatta has been appointed to perform the traditional worship at the north gate shrine here, Raghavendra Bhatta will conduct the daily rituals at the temple of Vasuki, described in Hindu epics as the great snake.