Temple priest injured in fall from elevated platform

A priest suffered head injuries after he fell down from a 11-feet elevated platform while performing puja to the famous 18-feet high Lord Hanuman shrine here, officials said Monday.

The 53-year-old priest, Venkatesh lost his balance and fell from the platform after garlanding the idol with tulsi leaves offered by a devotee.

"Venkatesh fell from the elevated platform. It seems he was diabetic.. he has been admitted to a hospital in Salem," a temple official told PTI.

The official claimed such an incident has not happened in the history of the old temple.

Venkatesh was not a priest on the rolls of the temple but was there to assist his brother Nagarajan, who was a priest attached to the shrine, a priest said.

A private hospital at Salem where he was admitted said the condition of the priest was very critical.

He was very critical even at the time of his admission on Sunday evening," a hospital official said.

The priest suffered a hemorrhage and an emergency surgical procedure was done to drain the blood in his brain, the official said.