A 49-year-old priest, who was performing special rituals on top of the Gampa Mallayya Swamy hillock in Singanamala mandal of Anantapur district, died after slipping into a 40-feet gorge. The video footage of the incident shot by a devotee has now gone viral on social media. According to the local police, the deceased priest was identified as Papayya.
The priest who was performing special rituals with a bell in one hand and the harathi plate in his other hand, suddenly lost balance and slipped off the hillock into a 40-feet deep gorge. The cops have registered a case and the body of the priest has been sent for post-mortem. The priest along with several devotees from various southern states, reached the Gampa Mallayya Swamy temple on Saturday morning where special rituals were to be performed to the presiding deity on the auspicious Sravana masam eve.