Mahant Narendra Giri's disciple Anand Giri sent to 14-day custody

Allahabad: Anand Giri, disciple of late Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad President Mahant Narendra Giri, and an accused in the case of Narendra Giri's death, was sent to 14-day judicial custody on Wednesday, 22 September.

Anand Giri was presented before the court after a medical examination.

The name of the accused had figured in an alleged suicide note that had surfaced post the Hindu saint's death on Monday.

Narendra Giri's Alleged Death by Suicide

Narendra Giri, head of one of the largest bodies of Hindu saints in the country, had allegedly died by suicide on 20 September. The 72-year-old seer had been found deceased at his Baghambari Math residence.

A suicide note accusing the seer's disciple Anand Giri as well as two others had been found during the preliminary investigation. The 13-page suicide note accuses Anand Giri of planning to use a morphed picture to discredit Narendra Giri.

Mahant Raju Das, in a statement issued following Giri's death, had urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to order an investigation into the death of the seer.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, conveying his condolences on Twitter, had also demanded a CBI investigation into the death.

Yogi Adityanath, on Tuesday, had stated that the person responsible for Mahant Narendra Giri's suicide would not be spared.

Investigation So Far

The Prayagraj police has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the high-profile 'suicide' case. The 18-member SIT team will be led by Ajeet Singh Chauhan, circle officer (IV) in Prayagraj.

An FIR had been lodged against Anand Giri at Georgetown police station in Prayagraj on Tuesday.

He was later detained by the police and was brought to Prayagraj for interrogation. The chief priest of the Bade Hanuman temple, Adya Prasad Tiwari, and his son Sandeep Tiwari were also detained and interrogated by the police.

ADG law and order Prashant Kumar indicated that a case had been registered against Anand Giri under Section 306 of IPC (Abetment of suicide). Kumar said that a probe was underway, and that Anand Giri had been taken into police custody on Monday.

"We will take action based on the findings of post-mortem report and investigation," the police said.

Meanwhile, the accused Anand Giri had called the allegation against him a conspiracy. "It is a big conspiracy by people who used to extort money from Guruji and wrote my name in the letter. It needs to be investigated as Guruji has not written a letter in his life and could not kill himself. His handwriting needs to be probed," he had stated.