Rajkot: A priest and his wife were found dead at the residential quarters of the Tarangadham Jain pilgrimage site, near Chuli village in Dhrangadhra taluka of Surendranagar district, on Tuesday.A preliminary police investigation suggests the priest allegedly killed his wife before dying by suicide.The deceased have been identified as Pravin Rathwa (37) and his wife, Varsha (35), natives of Chhota Udepur district. The couple had served at Tarangadham for the past six years.Acting on a complaint filed by the Tarangadham manager, police have begun the process of registering a murder case against the priest in connection with his wife’s death.Narendra Sinh Chudasama, police inspector in-charge of Dhrangadhra Taluka Police Station, said the couple lived on the temple premises with their two children, who attend a school in Chuli village, about a kilometre away.On Tuesday morning, the children left for school as usual. When they returned in the afternoon and repeatedly knocked with no response, they began to cry, prompting temple staff and others at the site to gather and attempt to reach the couple. With the door locked from inside, they broke a windowpane and saw Pravin hanging inside the house. After forcing the door open, officers found Varsha Rathwa’s body lying in a pool of blood.According to the preliminary investigation, the couple had argued shortly before the incident, and police found signs of a struggle inside the house. Investigators suspect Pravin first struck his wife on the head with a wooden stick, inflicting fatal injuries, before taking his own life. Bloodstains matching the victim were also found on his clothing.The couple is survived by two young children — a son in Class 2 and a daughter in Class 5.Neighbours and others familiar with the family described the couple as having generally lived harmoniously. The exact cause of the alleged altercation remains under investigation.
