HYDERABAD: A cold-blooded murder committed by a temple priest and hidden for nearly 18 months came to light on Wednesday after the victim’s mother approached Narsingi Police to lodge a missing person complaint.
The accused, Pawan Kumar Joshi (43) is the priest at Narsingi Hanuman temple and lives nearby. The victim, Mahesh Vyas (41), was a close cousin of the accused.
Based on the victim’s mother Laxmi Bai’s statement about her son living with Joshi, Narsingi Police quizzed him only to discover that Mahesh was killed 18 months ago and his body was dumped in a septic tank.
He named two of his cousins Hareesh and Jayashankar as ones who helped him dispose of the body. Narsingi Police have registered a case against the three under Sections 302 (murder), 201(causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (principle of joint liability) of the Indian Penal Code.
During interrogation, Pawan confessed to police that he committed the crime in the heat of the moment during an altercation. He hit Mahesh on the head with a hammer and the latter died on the spot. The same night, he disposed of the body with the help of his cousins.
Police said that Pawan used to financially support Mahesh who did not work. Laxmi Bai, who is a resident of Begum Bazar, told Police that she used to meet her son only once in a year or two. Since she did not see him for over a year and half, she grew suspicious and approached the Narsingi Police to lodge a missing person complaint naming cousin Pawan Kumar Joshi.
She told police that her son had informed her that he was going to live with Pawan in Narsingi. On the other hand, Mahesh has told police that he was annoyed with Pawan spending money on ganja.
“He does not remember the date of offence but voluntarily confessed the whole story when we called him for questioning. In the heat of the moment, he appears to have hit Mahesh Vyas with a hammer and killed him. We are investigating,” said P Ramachander Rao, inspector, Narsingi.