AN UNHOLY AFFAIR

THE ALLEGED SUICIDE OF AKHARA PARISHAD CHIEF MAHANT NARENDRA GIRI EXPOSES THE MURKY SIDE OF A ‘SAINTLY’ WORLD

-  Ashish Misra

THE POPULAR BADE HANUMANJI MANDIR on the banks of the Sangam (where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet) in Prayagraj (earlier Allahabad) opened as usual on September 25. But for the first time in 17 years, the puja of the rare lete hue (supine) Hanuman idol took place without Mahant Narendra Giri, the peethadheeshwar of the Baghambari Muth that runs the temple. Giri had allegedly committed suicide on the evening of September 20, and the temple complex had been closed to devotees—again a first in many decades; the temple was open for darshan even at the height of the Covid pandemic.

The body of Narendra Giri, who was also the secretary of the Niranjani Akhara as well as the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), was found hanging from a ceiling fan at the guest house of the Baghambari Muth in the Allahpur locality. Police offcials found a ‘suicide note’ at the spot, in which Giri made serious allegations, including of blackmail over a purported pornographic video, against three people—Anand Giri , one of his main disciples; Aadya Prasad Tiwari, head priest of the Bade Hanuman Mandir and his son Sandeep Tiwari. All three are now in police custody.

Given his high-profile connections and the fact that Uttar Pradesh goes to polls early next year, Giri’s suspicious death has generated a lot of political heat in the immediate aftermath. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who rushed to Prayagraj on September 21, initially announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case, saying “no one responsible will be spared”. But after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav reached the muth and demanded an inquiry led by a sitting high court judge, Yogi referred the case to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) on September 22.