Temple priest found dead in pond

Kozhikode: The priest of Moolekkavu Bhagavathi temple at Varanakkara near Thuvvakkad in Malappuram district was found dead in the temple pond on Thursday morning.

Police identified the deceased as Sarath, 33, of Manapparambil House, Paravur, Ernakulam. He was found dead around 6.30am.

Sharath had joined duty at the temple about four months ago and was residing in a house adjacent to the temple.

On Wednesday evening, after completing the rituals, he closed the temple as usual. After he failed to open the temple on Thursday morning, other staff members conducted a search and found him drowned in the pond.

Fire force personnel from Tirur reached the spot and retrieved the body. Sharath's body has been shifted to Manjeri Medical College Hospital for postmortem examination. Kalpakanchery police have registered a case in connection with the incident.