By Matters India Reporter
Changanacherry, November 3, 2018: A Catholic priest was found dead on November 3 near a railway track in Changanacherry, Kerala, southern India.
The priest has been identified as Father Mukesh Tirkey of the diocese of Ambikapur in the central Indians state of Chhattisgarh.
The police have recovered a suicide note from the 36-year-old priest’s room which read, “This is my own decision. Please respect my decision and pray for my soul.”
The Oraon tribal priest was last seen at the chapel of Cana, the family apostolate institute of the Archdiocese of Changanacherry, that he joined 18 months ago.
As he was not found late in the night the institute officials informed the police, who came and searched his room and found the suicide note, reports newsatindia.com, a Kerala-based news portal.
The police found the priest’s body around 30 minutes after midnight on the railway track at Thuruthy, which is some 80 km southeast of Kochi, Kerala’s commercial capital.
The Cana officials reportedly informed the Ambikapur diocese at night. The diocese has sent the deceased priest’s brother, Father Neelam Tirkey, to Changanacherry, which is some 2,350 km southwest of Ambikapur.
The Cana officials have said that a decision on the funeral would be taken only after Father Neelam’s arrival. Meanwhile the body has been kept in a mortuary. The body could be buried in Changanacherry or taken to Ambikapur, depending on Father Neelam.