Priest Shoots, Kills Himself Over Social Media Post

A priest allegedly shot and killed himself after a video and audio clip of him talking indecently with a woman went viral online in Junagadh, Gujarat, India on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

The priest, identified as Rajubharati Bapu of Khetaliya Dada Temple in Junagadh, allegedly shot himself in the head and took his own life with his licensed revolver hours after purported videos showing him with a woman and audio clips of him talking intimately to women went viral on Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Times Of India reported.

After he shot himself, he was rushed to a government hospital in Junagadh where he was pronounced dead.

Following the incident, the officers registered a case of accidental death and sent the body for an autopsy.

“We have sent an FSL team to investigate the incident. We came to know that the man was upset over some social media post. We did not find any suicide note but will register an offense if we find any substantial evidence of abetment of suicide,” said Hitesh Dhandhaliya, Deputy Superintendent of Police Junagadh.

“We have received the video and audio clips from the media and have also seized his phone and we are trying to unlock it. However, we have not recovered any suicide note so far,” Ravi Teja Vasamsetty, Superintendent of police of Junagadh SAID.

Rajubharati was around 40 to 45 years old and a native of Odisha, India. He became the priest of Khetaliya Dada Mandir on the outskirts of Junagadh around 10 years ago after the then priest, Kalubharati, was allegedly shot dead over a land dispute, the Indian Express reported.

In a similar but unrelated incident, an 18-year-old boy reportedly killed himself after his mother eloped with her lover in Nangal Pannuan village, Amritsar, India on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, as previously reported.

The victim, an 18-year-old boy named Lovepreet Singh, who used to work at a petrol pump, was devastated after his mother recently ran away with her lover. Upset over this, Singh allegedly consumed some poisonous substance two days ago and committed suicide on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022.

According to the father of the deceased, Gurmail Singh, his wife and the victim's mother, Sukhwinder Kaur, had an extramarital relationship with a man named Sukhminder Singh. Even though the family members warned her to end her affair with the man, she was adamant and continued the affair. About four days before the incident, she left the house and eloped with Sukhminder. The victim, who was reportedly close to his mother, could not cope with the shock and decided to take his own life.