A 35-year-old priest who went missing on Monday was found dead near bushes in Bihar’s Gopalganj on Saturday, said police, adding that the priest’s private parts were brutally damaged and his eyes were gouged out when police found his body.
Since the incident came to light, tension gripped Gopalganj, and locals have pelted stones, vandalized vehicles, barricaded roads, and indulged in arson. According to police, the deceased Manoj Kumar was last seen at a temple in Danapur village, under the jurisdiction of Majha police station in Gopalganj.
Manoj’s brother Ashok Kumar, a local BJP leader, told the New Indian Express, “We had lodged a complaint with the police after Manoj went missing on Monday. Police launched a search operation but nothing happened. Late last evening, his body was recovered from a bush, leaving everybody shocked.”
As locals learned about his body, they gathered and, enraged over the incident, pelted stones at the police. A police van was also set on fire, and following the incident, two policemen sustained injuries.
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The protestors were demanding the immediate arrest of the accused. Pranjal Kumar, a sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Gopalganj, said that a special team has been set up to identify the culprits and ensure their arrest at the earliest.
“The situation at the village is tense but under control. Additional security forces have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident,” he added.
“The deceased worked as a priest as well as caretaker of the temple at the village,” SDPO said.
Reacting to the incident, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday attacked the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government over the killing of the Priest in Bihar and said that “jungle-raj” has returned in the state.
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