A 73-year-old devotee from Andhra Pradesh died after falling into the 300-foot-deep Gorakshnath cave area near Brahmagiri late on September 16.
The deceased has been identified as Maitar Ramrao Bhairavi, a resident of Veravanapatti, Ambugam. He had gone to Brahmagiri for darshan at the source of the Godavari and, after visiting the Jata temple, mistakenly took the difficult route towards Durgbhandar fort.
In the evening, locals heard him calling for help and alerted Metghar Fort Police Patil, who, in turn, informed Trimbak Police Station. Police Inspector Mahesh Kulkarni immediately sent a team comprising Constables Sachin Jadhav, Amol Borade and Nandkumar Musale, while a rescue team was also summoned from Nashik.
Officials from the Forest Department, the police, rescue personnel and local residents climbed Brahmagiri via Gangadwar and moved towards Durgbhandar. However, before they could reach him, the devotee slipped and fell into the Gorakshnath cave around midnight.
He was later found about six feet from the cave edge. Despite being pulled out with the help of rescue teams, he was declared dead. The police conducted a panchnama on the spot and brought the body down around dawn.
