PATNA: Tension has gripped Bihar's Gopalganj district following the gruesome killing of a 32-year-old priest late on Saturday.
Agitated over the incident, residents vandalized police vehicles, pelted stones, put up road blockades, and indulged in arson.
The deceased Manoj Kumar had gone missing for the last five days. He was last seen at the Shiva temple at Danapur village under the Majha police station area in the district.
On Saturday evening, his body was recovered from a bush near Sri Rampur Bazar. His eyes were gouged out and his private parts were badly damaged.
Manoj's brother Ashok Kumar, a local BJP leader, said, “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 the news about the recovery of the dead body of the priest spread, residents gathered there and raised slogans against police and district administration.
A police vehicle was set on fire and police personnel were pelted with stones.
Two policemen suffered injuries in stone pelting. A section of protestors also put up a road blockade by placing the dead body on National Highway 27, leading to a heavy traffic jam.
The protestors were demanding immediate arrest of those involved in the heinous crime. The traffic was restored after the intervention of a senior police officer on Sunday. 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.
What is baffling the investigating officials is that the deceased's eyes were gouged out and his private parts badly damaged, which gave indications of the extent of the ferocity of the killers.
“The deceased worked as a priest as well as caretaker of the Shiva temple at the village,” SDPO said.