Koraput (Odisha), Nov 12 (PTI) Odisha Police on Sunday arrested seven persons including two women for murdering a temple priest in Koraput district.

Ramesh Chandra Tripathy (73) was found dead in his house near Budhi Thakurani temple here on November 8.

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"We began a probe and found that two women, who worked as helps in Tripathy's house, did not come for duty after his death. When we interrogated them, they confessed to murdering the priest with the help of their accomplices," said Koraput sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Srabani Nayak.

The accused have been identified as Saraswati Jani (20), Rama Gouda (21), Pratap Takri (24), Kishan Bag (20), Niraj Benia (21), Mahendra Panigrahi (25) and Ashok Ray (35), Nayak said.

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As Tripathy lived alone, Jani along with her accomplices planned to loot his valuables, police said.

"When the gang entered Tripathy's house to rob him, he shouted for help. To silence him, the accused put a cloth inside his mouth. They also tied his legs and hands. The priest died due to asphyxia," Nayak said.

After committing the murder, they broke an almirah and trunk and fled with all the money and ornaments, she added.

Police have recovered Rs 15,000 cash, gold and silver ornaments and six mobile phones from the accused.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)