The body of a priest was found hanging in a temple under mysterious circumstances in Farrukhabad on Sunday morning.

The local police rushed to the spot soon after learning about the incident and also summoned the forensic team to collect the evidence to confirm whether it was a case of suicide or murder, as allegedly by the local residents.

Reports said that Brijnandan, a resident of Mohalla Nonyamganj in Kayamganj Nagar was a priest in the temple located in Shyamnagar village, adjacent to Brajnandanlal Nagar. On Sunday, when the devotees reached the temple and did not see the priest there, they went to his room on the second floor of the temple to enquire about his well-being. They were shocked when they found the door of the room lying open and the body of the priest hanging from the ceiling.

The devotees raised an alarm and also informed the family members of the priest about his death. The family members also reached the spot and called the police.

On getting information, Inspector Jai Prakash Pal reached the temple with force. The deceased was hanging with a rope around his neck and had slippers on his feet which were touching the floor, raising suspicion over suicide.

The inspector informed the higher officials, and later a forensic team reached the spot and took samples.

The priest’s wife Aarti Devi and family members suspect foul play and claim that someone might have killed the priest and later hanged his body to make it look like a case of suicide.

According to Aarti Devi, earlier her husband, Brijnandan, used to do private work but five years back he built a temple in Shyamnagar village and started worshiping there. Sometimes he used to come to the relatives living in Nonyamganj.

Aarti Devi said Brijnandan had come home on Saturday and had taken food and later left to sleep in the temple.

A case was registered and further investigations are on.