Niranjani Akhara chief claims suicide letter allegedly written by Mahant Narendra Giri fake

Allahabad: Niranjani Akhara chief Ravindra Puri while speaking to Aaj Tak/India Today TV on Wednesday said Akhara Parishad Chief Narendra Giri, who was found hanging by his disciples on Monday had a back head injury. He also claimed that the suicide letter allegedly written by the seer is fake and was not written by him.

Earlier in the day, a panel of five doctors conducted an autopsy of the body of Mahant Narendra Giri, after which the body was given a bath at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Sarasvati rivers. The seer was given the "bhoo samadhi" under a lemon tree in the Muth around 3 pm. The last rites of the seer were performed at Uttar Pradesh's Baghambari Muth.

The post-mortem examination lasted for about two-and-a-half hours and the report was handed over to senior police officials in a sealed cover. There was heavy deployment of security personnel at the site where the autopsy was conducted.

Reports say that the death of the seer was caused by hanging. The post-mortem was recorded on video and his viscera has been preserved.

Meanwhile, in Meerut, UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu demanded a CBI probe into the death under the supervision of the High Court.Lallu alleged that the state government is misleading followers of the seer and efforts are being made to hide the truth.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Tuesday said all aspects related to the death are being investigated and the guilty will not be spared. The Uttar Pradesh Police had constituted an 18-member SIT to probe the death of the seer.

In a press conference, additional director general (law and order) Prashant Kumar said that two accused Anand Giri and Adya Tiwari have so far been arrested in the case of Narendra Giri's death. The investigation and interrogations are underway, he said. Both Anand Giri, Aadya Tiwari were sent to 14 days judicial custody

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had paid their respects to the seer at the Muth.

Mahant Narendra Giri, who was the president of the largest organisation of sadhus in India, was found hanging by his disciples at Baghambari Muth in Allahabad on Monday. A purported suicide note was also found, in which the seer had written that he was mentally disturbed and upset with one of his disciples, police had said.

According to reports, the seer in the purported suicide note wrote that his former disciple Anand Giri was trying to blackmail him using a morphed picture of a woman. The seer purportedly wrote that he would rather die with dignity than face this false accusation.

Meanwhile, India Today reports that Akhara Parishad will have an important meeting 16 days after 'shosthi' (16 days after the seer's demise). At the meeting, the next president of the body will be elected, says the report.