Priest found charred to death in Karnal

Police, accompanied by a team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), conducted an inspection, after which the victim’s body was sent for postmortem

A 62-year-old priest was found dead in his room at a temple in Birbadalva village here on Saturday.

HT Image

The victim, Onkar Puri, the mahant of Dera Onkar Khera, had sustained burn injuries. Villagers saw smoke coming out of Puri’s room in the afternoon and upon entering it found the priest’s charred body, police said. “The priest was found lying on his bed. Most of his furniture and belongings were also scorched,” he said.

Police, accompanied by a team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), conducted an inspection, after which the victim’s body was sent for postmortem.

Fellow priests alleged that Puri had been murdered. Nigdhu police station in-charge Sajjan Singh said the cause of death will be ascertained after postmortem examination and that the police had recorded the statements of villagers.

Puri had been living at the Dera for 12 years and had received the title of mahant around six years ago.