In an ugly turn to an ongoing feud between two priests of the Sri Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple in Karnataka’s Melukote town, one of the priests has reportedly accused the other of downloading pornographic videos on his smartphone.

The Times of India reported that priest Narayana Bhattar lodged a police complaint on December 12, that his co-priest Bhashyam Swamiji alleging assault and theft, following which the latter produced a cell phone and said that it had ‘inappropriate’ clippings. He claimed that the phone belonged to Bhattar.

However, while the police did find inappropriate content in the phone, it has left the final decision to the endowments department.

"We have registered an FIR against Bhashyam Swamiji and others based on the complaint lodged by Narayana Bhattar. We have returned Bhattar's mobile phone to him. We have written a letter to the endowment department authorities over the allegation of inappropriate videos found in Bhattar's smartphone. We have left it to the endowment department to take a decision in this regard," Mandya SP G Radhika told TOI.

The entire incident came to light last week, after Bhashyam alleged that Narayana had stopped him from performing pooja.

Several devotees reportedly witnessed the heated argument, which soon even turned physical, as Narayana Bhattar later alleged assault.

“During our heated argument, his mobile fell down. It was then we spotted the contents. It contained nude videos images and apps. It was a shock to visitors and devotees assembled there. I had been to Melukote temple based on government’s order. But Narayana Bhat did not allow me to perform pooja and argued with me for more than 1 hour. His allegations against me and my brother are completely false,” Bhashyam told Mirror earlier.

Perched atop the rocky ridge of the Sahyadri ranges, Melukote is famed for its temples and tanks.