Hyderabad, May 23 -- A temple priest and his mentally challenged son were found dead in the pond of the very temple where the priest had served for two decades, in what police are treating as a case of suicide.

The deceased have been identified as Varayoru Lakshminarasimhacharyulu, 54, and his son Pavan Kumar Acharyulu, 25. The two were associated with the Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple in Bandlagudem village of Lingala Ghanpur mandal in Jangaon district, Telangana.

According to locals, the priest had been in deep distress ever since his wife Sridevi passed away about a month ago following a prolonged illness. Residents of the village say he had repeatedly spoken of ending his life along with his son, who suffered from an intellectual di...