Priest found murdered at Ayodhya’s Hanumangarhi Temple with his throat slit

AYODHYA: A 44-year-old priest was found murdered at Ayodhya’s Hanumangarhi Temple with his throat slit in a room in the high-security zone of Ram Janambhoomi premises on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as Ram Sahrey Das.

Police have claimed this to be the handiwork of an insider, and said that there was no forced entry into the priest’s room.

Senior police superintendent Raj Karan Nayyar said Das used to stay in the room adjacent to Hanumangarhi Temple with two disciples, who are the key suspects.

He added one of the suspects was being questioned while the second was missing. Nayyar said four teams have been formed to trace the second suspect.

Nayyar said police were informed about the incident at around 7am. Das’s body was found after he did not turn up for morning prayers. Nayyar said Das was one of the priests at Hanumangarhi Temple.

Das was allegedly murdered with a sharp-edged weapon, according to initial reports. Cops were yet to recover the murder weapon.

Police sources said that Das allegedly had some confrontation with his disciples on Wednesday night even as police were trying to ascertain the exact reason behind the crime.