Priest's charred body found at Gorakhpur temple

The deceased was identified as Ganga Das, 95, who had been sleeping in the temple's veranda at the time of the incident in the Gulriha area of Gorakhpur district, police said.

Gorakhpur: The charred body of an elderly priest was found on Monday morning here at the Bamant Mata Temple. It is suspected to be an accident, police said.

The deceased was identified as Ganga Das, 95, who had been sleeping in the temple's veranda at the time of the incident in the Gulriha area of Gorakhpur district, they said.

According to police, by the morning, his body was reduced to ashes, with only part of the head remaining intact.

A police official said Ganga Das, who was hearing and speech impaired, was unable to call for help, which is why the incident went unnoticed during the night.

City Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhinav Tyagi and a police team visited the scene and sent the body for post-mortem.

"The exact cause of death is yet to be determined, but preliminary investigations suggest it may have been accidental. It is suspected that the priest lit a fire to stay warm in the cold night, which tragically led to the incident," the police officials said.

Ganga Das, a resident of Jungle Dumri Number Two, had been living at the temple for a long time, the police said, adding they are continuing their investigation into the matter.