A 55-year-old priest, who had gone missing from Ayarkunnam the other day, was found dead inside a well near his parish here on Monday.
The deceased was identified as George Ettuparayil, a native of Edathuva in Alappuzha, who was the vicar of the St. Thomas Church at Punnathura near here. The priest, who had been staying at a house near the parish, reportedly went missing on Sunday afternoon.
The body was found inside the well on Monday morning during a search operation carried out by the local police and priests from the Changanassery Archdiocese.
Fr. George had taken charge of the parish only a few months ago after returning from abroad. Preliminary investigations suggested that the deceased had been under immense pressure over a fire accident reported in the parish last week.
Meanwhile, the police have recovered the priest’s cellphone which was in silent mode. The CCTV cameras in the church premises were switched off.
Police are awaiting a post-mortem examination report to confirm the cause of death.
