Mystery deepens: Mahant Giri called up BJP leaders before death; Prayag Peeth head sees ‘bigger conspiracy’

A day after an autopsy report said that the head of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad Mahant Narendra Giri died of “asphyxia due to hanging”, chief of the Prayag Peeth Swami Onkarananda Sarawati raised doubts over the circumstances in which Giri died.

Referring to the sources privy to the findings of the autopsy report, local media said no external injury marks were found on the body of Narendra Giri.

“The post-mortem report has confirmed a V mark on the Mahant’s neck, which is caused by hanging,” said media reports, strengthening the suicide theory.

Hindi daily Amar Ujala reported Narendra Giri asked his disciples to bring a new rope day before he died. It is being said Giri committed suicide using the same rope.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Onkarananda Sarawati, however, raised doubts over the seven-page suicide letter allegedly written by Giri, linking it to a bigger conspiracy to defame Sanatan Dharma.

He also slammed some BJP leaders for making reckless comments.

“Why will a person accept his sins, wrongdoings in a letter, if he has already decided to commit suicide?” asked Sarawati.

Saying that there is a bigger conspiracy behind the death, Sarawati urged police to find out the person who brought down the dead body of Mahant Giri. He asked, “Why was videography of the room not done?”

Slamming some BJP leaders for making ‘reckless comments’, Sarawati asked them to apologize to Hindus.

Meanwhile, quoting police sources, news channel TV9 claimed that Giri had called up two local BJP leaders before his death. BJP leaders Anurag Sant and Sandeep Tiwari’s numbers have been recovered from Giri’s call log., it said. Both were considered very close to Giri.

The body of Narendra Giri was found hanging from the ceiling of his room at Shri Math Baghambari Gaddi in Prayagraj on Monday.

His close aides and most trusted disciples, Anand Giri and Adya Prasad Tiwari along with his son Sandeep have been arrested by the police on charges of abetment to suicide and produced before a Prayagraj court, which sent them to 14-day judicial custody for interrogation.