Three including his Principle Disciple Held for Mahant Narendra Giri’s Unnatural Death
NEW DELHI, Sept 21: Based on the “suicide note” found near the body hanging from the ceiling of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Prarishad president Mahant Narendra Giri, the Uttar Pradesh Police has detained his principal disciple Anand Giri from Haridwar, an official said on Tuesday, a day after the seer was found dead in his room in Baghambari Muth in Allahabad on Monday.
Anand Giri was detained on Monday night after a case for abetting suicide was lodged against him, ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said. Two others also named in the purported “suicide note” were also detained later.
Mahant Narendra Giri, the president of the largest organisation of seers in India, was allegedly being “mentally tortured” by some of his disciples, particularly Anand Giri who had recently left the Allahabad Mutt and went to Haridwar.
A purported suicide note of seven-eight pages was also found, in which the seer had written that he was mentally disturbed and was ending his life. He has specifically named three persons including Anand Giri, responsible for his “committing suicide.”
Kumar said in the suicide note, names of three people were mentioned and on the basis of the FIR, Anand Giri was detained.
“He is being brought to Allahabad for further probe,” he said, adding that evidence in the case is being collected.
An “unbiased and transparent” probe into the matter is on and the state police is capable of handling the case, the officer said.
About the veracity of the suicide note, Kumar said forensic experts are looking into it.
Anand Giri after his arrest, however, claimed that the alleged suicide note was a “fake one” and suspected it to be a case of murder. He also named two persons, including a guard in the mutt, who he alleged could be responsible for the murder. But the deceased seer’s three other disciples in the mutt, who were the first to break into the locked room and found the body hanging from the ceiling fan claimed that it must be a case of “suicide” because all the three entrance doors to the room were securely bolted from inside and there was no scope for anyone to leave the room unnoticed after committing the crime, if any.
The UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited the muth to pay homage to the departed seer, said the case was being investigated from all angles and the guilty would not be spared.
As several political parties, including the Samajwadi Party, whose chief Akhilesh Yadav, also visited the muth to pay his last respect, and the Shiv Sena, sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the crime, Adityanath said the case would be solved soon and that evidence had been collected in connection with the seer’s death. “The postmortem will be done tomorrow… I politely request everyone to not give unnecessary statements during the process and let the investigating agencies do their work,” Adityanath said.
The CM said the police under the additional director general (Allahabad zone) and Prayagraj police commissioner were working as a team. Adityanath added that several pieces of evidence have been collected regarding the crime and a team of senior police officials is investigating the case.
A five-member team will conduct a post-mortem examination on his body on Wednesday and the 62-year-old seer will be laid to rest in a ‘samadhi’ as per religious rites and beliefs, the chief minister said. “I remember how he gave his unconditional support to make Prayagraj Kumbh 2019 an international level event. His contribution to religious society is unforgettable. It is very sad that he is not with us today. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give peace to his soul,” he said.
Anand Giri and the two others named in the complaint have been arrested. The first information report or FIR under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was lodged late Monday night. SP City Dinesh Kumar Singh said the case against Anand Giri was registered on the complaint of Baghambari Math ashram sewadar Amar Giri Pawan Maharaj. According to the complaint, Mahant Giri was under stress and used to say that Anand was harassing him, Singh added.
(Manas Dasgupta)
