By Matters India Reporter
Gumla, Oct 28, 2023: The diocese of Gumla in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand is grieving the mysterious death of one of its priests.
The body of Father Rajat Ekka, parish priest of Chainpur, was found October 27 morning in a well inside the parish compound.
“Very unfortunate,” Father Cyprian Kullu, the public relations officer of the diocese, told Matters India October 28.
Father Ekka, who was in his early 60s, was a dynamic priest who had served as the dean of our deaneries in the diocese, Father Kullu said.
The diocesan official ruled out any foul play, saying they do not suspect Father Ekka was murdered.
The senior priest might have been under depression or he must have accidentally fallen into the well, the PRO said.
Father Kullu, quoting parish sources, said Father Ekka was missing since the evening of October 26. “He used to ring the church bell in the morning. When the priest did not turn up for breakfast the cook went looking for him and found his body in the well,” the PRO explained.
Father Ekka was born on January 27, 1962, in Rengnitoli of Jari block. He was ordained a priest on April 24, 1993. In 2019, he took over as the Chainpur parish priest and dean.