A priest was shot dead and his eyes gouged out in Bihar's Gopalganj district yesterday, the police said.
His body was recovered from the bushes late last evening, officials said, adding there were injuries on his private parts as well.
32-year-old Manoj Kumar had been missing since Monday night. He was last seen leaving the Shiva temple in Danapur village at around midnight.
Manoj Kumar's brother Ashok is a former BJP worker.
Soon after his body was found, clashes erupted in the village with locals accusing police of negligence. Two policemen were injured in the clashes after villagers staged protest on the national highway and threw stones at police. A police vehicle was also set on fire.
Manoj Kumar's family had filed a missing complaint on Tuesday following which police had launched a search operation to trace him.
Pranjal, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Gopalganj, said the situation in the village was under control now and adequate police force had been called in to prevent any untoward incident.
He said a probe has been launched and efforts are on to arrest the suspects.
