62-year-old priest found dead outside a temple in Ullawas village

GURUGRAM: A 62-year-old man, who had come to Gurugram from Kadarpur village on Monday for a ‘yajna’, was found dead in mysterious circumstances outside a temple in Ullawas village on early Wednesday morning.

The deceased, who was a priest and had come to the Baba Hari Giri Ashram in Badshahpur for an annual prayer meeting, was identified as Mahabir Giri alias Bhurra Baba.

The incident was reported to the police at 4am when other priests found Mahabir lying in a pool of blood.

“Mahabir was not feeling well the night before and requested for water around 11pm. He then retired for the night,” Pintu Tyagi, member of the organisation responsible for the 41-day event, said.

Police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The post-mortem examination was conducted on Wednesday and the body was handed over to the family.

“We cannot comment on the cause of death till we get the postmortem report. The victim’s body did not have external injury or stab wounds, but it had some rashes,” Badshahpur station house officer Vinod Kumar said.

Villagers said the victim, who would frequent the temple in Badshahpur, would consume alcohol and hallucinogens every day.

Dr Deepak Mathur, forensic expert at Civil Hospital, Gurugram, who conducted the postmortem examination said, “Preliminary examination suggest signs of assault and over-dosage. The victim’s heart was enlarged and he was bleeding from the nose and mouth. The viscera samples have been sent to the laboratory for further tests.”

Rohit Ambawat, an acquaintance of the victim, said, Mahabir was unmarried and is survived by two brothers. However he had not been in contact with his family members for some time.”

THE INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO THE POLICE AT 4AM WHEN OTHER PRIESTS FOUND MAHABIR LYING IN A POOL OF BLOOD