Body of sadhu brutally murdered using axe found in Uttar Pradesh's Agra

Representational image (Credit: Pixabay)

Agra: A body of a sadhu, who appeared to have been brutally murdered using an axe, was found in a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Agra on Wednesday (March 17) morning.

The incident, which occurred in the New Agra area, has created an atmosphere of panic among the locals. The villagers discovered the blood-stained body lying in the Hanuman temple premises, built in the jungle along the Yamuna river.

The police arrived at the scene after the locals reported the incident. Rohan Pramod Botre, Additional SP (City), Agra said that the sadhu was killed using an axe. The weapon was recovered from the crime scene.

The body was sent for postmortem. The state police have started an investigation in the matter to solve the mysterious murder.

According to the locals, the sadhu had been living there for almost 30 years. 

There have been more than a few cases of murder of sadhus in the state and across the country as well.

Last year, two sadhus died under mysterious circumstances and another one was admitted to a hospital after they allegedly consumed “poisonous tea” at Giriraj Vatika Ashram, run by one of them, in Mathura’s Govardhan area.

Gulab Singh, 60, and Shyam Sundar Das, 61, died while Ram Babu, 60, was admitted to the hospital. The deceased sadhus had come to the ashram just two days ago.

The postmortem report mentioned the cause of death as “uncertain”, said police, adding that the viscera of the deceased has been preserved while the samples from the third sadhu have also been collected and will be sent to a forensic laboratory.

In yet another incident, three people, including two sadhus were killed by a rampaging mob armed with an axe and stick in Palghar, Maharashtra last year. The state police, however, ruled out any communal angle in the incident.