SRINAGAR: A local priest was arrested on murder charges here on Monday for allegedly pushing a youth, whose widow he had an affair with, into a river.

Police said Abdul Gani Naik had allegedly taken Shah Nawaz Dar to the banks of the Jehlum on the pretext of performing a sacred ritual to solve his marital discord.

Srinagar SSP Syed Ashiq Bukhari said Dar's family had filed his missing report on September 30, saying he had not returned to his in-laws house after offering evening prayers at a local mosque in Qamarwari a day earlier.

Dar's body was fished out of the river a few days later and a special team constituted to probe his death recovered Naik's ID card from his pocket.

It emerged Naik, the local prayer leader, was a frequent visitor to Dar's house and his call details revealed he had been in touch with his widow even at odd hours of the night.

"The priest was questioned and he confessed to having an illicit relationship with the widow of Dar, whom he plotted to eliminate," said Bukhari.

The priest took him to a bridge on the nearby river and asked him to close his eyes and recite some versus to end the discord. "As he began to recite the verses, he pushed him from behind and left him to drown."

