Fugitive priest Mahant Naresh Nath accused of burying two friends alive in Baghpat, in police net
Meerut: A 50-year-old priest, who was accused of burying two friends alive inside a temple in Lahchoda village of UP’s Baghpat and had allegedly fled to Nepal only to return after the recent flash floods, has been arrested in Kolkata, police said Saturday. Carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, Mahant Naresh Nath, the fugitive priest, was caught disguised as a beggar in the city’s Bidhannagar area. Victims Ankit Kumar and Israr Ahmed (early 30s) went missing on July 25, and their bodies were recovered from a pit inside the temple premises on Aug 13, nearly three weeks later, according to police. After our efforts to trace them failed, we approached the police on July 29, and a missing persons report was registered,” Ankur’s relative, Anil Kumar, said.
Investigations revealed that Nath and his two disciples allegedly laced the victims’ tea with sedatives, administered intoxicating injections, and buried them alive.
Following leads across several states, UP Police located him “begging” in Kolkata and conducted a raid to detain him. Speaking with TOI , SP (Baghpat) Suraj Rai said, “The accused had fled to Nepal soon after the incident. But owing to the natural disaster in Nepal, he came back to India and started staying with a female disciple at an ashram in Bidhannagar. “The two men had left home saying they would return by evening. Their phones were found switched off.
Nath remained at large While police had previously jailed both disciples.
SP Rai revealed that Nath allegedly had an illicit relationship with Ankur’s 35-year-old sister, a relationship the latter strongly opposed.
The motive behind the double murder stems from a personal dispute, according to the police.