A 62-year-old rector was strangulated in the wee hours of Monday inside St Peter’s Pontifical Seminary at Malleswaram here.
The victim, Father K J Thomas, a native of Ooty, was residing at the seminary for the past five years. He was the seminary manager and used to train those who wanted to become priests.
The police suspect it to be a murder for gain. The assailants struck the priest’s head, strangled him with his dhoti and escaped with valuables, including money collected for some donation.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 2 am and came to light around 4 am when Fr Patrick Xavier found Fr Thomas’ body at the visitor’s hall on the first floor, where their rooms are located.
Fr Xavier said Fr Thomas and he had dined around 7.30 pm and retired for the night around 10 pm. Between 2 am and 3 am, Fr Patrick heard a noise, but ignored it. Later when he came out, he found blood on the floor and followed the trail to the entrance of the visitors’ hall where Fr Thomas lay dead.
A police source said, “The assailants took `700 from Fr Thomas’ shirt pocket. They also rummaged through some files and documents.” The security guard, Ram Singh, reportedly did not hear any sound due to the heavy rain.
It is said that a week ago Fr Thomas had quarrelled with a man regarding the compound of a school, which is attached to the seminary, and had slapped him. Last Thursday, Singh was assaulted by three men, but no police complaint was filed.
On Sunday night, Fr Thomas’ sister called him from Kerala and said she was coming to Bangalore on Monday. On arriving, she repeatedly called his cell phone, but there was no response. She later reached the seminary and was informed about her brother’s death.