Koraput: Police on Sunday arrested seven persons, including two women accused, on charges of murdering a temple priest in Odisha’s Koraput district on November 8.
According to reports, the arrested accused had killed Ramesh Chandra Tripathy, a priest of Budhi Thakurani temple in Koraput, with the intention to loot his valuables.
Tripathy was found dead with his limbs tied in his house located near the temple and his belongings were found scattered around the house.
During investigation, it was found that the priest used to live alone after the death of his wife and son. One Saraswati Jani of Hatapada often visited the priest. Later, she along with her accomplices conspired to kill the priest and loot his belongings.
On the fateful day, the seven accused entered his room to loot his belongings but Tripathy woke up and shouted for help. Afraid that they would be identified and caught, the accused gagged the priest and tied his limbs before leaving in a hurry. The post-mortem report revealed that Tripathy died due to asphyxia.
