Beheaded body case: police on lookout for priest

Mumbai: The Aarey police, which is probing the recent murder of 23-year-old youth Brandon Gonsalves, has sent teams to Chennai in search of a priest. The suspect, whose identity the police is withholding since the probe is ongoing, had been serving at a temple located in the area where Gonsalves’ decapitated body was recently found in Aarey Milk Colony’s Unit 2.

The priest had been missing from Monday, the day the murder was committed, according to the police. The police say Gonsalves, though a Christian, had an inclination towards Hindu religious beliefs. The officer said, “Brandon’s mother is a Maharashtrian Hindu and, because of her, the boy was used to frequenting temples.” According to a friend of Gonsalves, the deceased was known to not visit churches.

Gonsalves’ head and body were found at spots that were barely 15 feet apart from two adjoining farms in Aarey colony on Thursday, after he left his Goregaon flat for a 7 am jog. A post-mortem report revealed that the culprit had killed Gonsalves on Monday afternoon, severing his head and cutting off his tongue. The post-mortem report also suggested that cross marks were made with a sharp object on the deceased’s forehead and right hand.