No need for autopsy in Ashutosh Maharaj's case: Punjab Police

Punjab Police have submitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that there is no evidence to show the death of spiritual leader Ashutosh Maharaj as unnatural and, so, no reason for autopsy.

Punjab Police have submitted in the Punjab and Haryana high court that there is no evidence to show the death of spiritual leader Ashutosh Maharaj as unnatural and, so, no reason for autopsy.

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On January 29, the doctors of his Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan dera in Nurmahal had declared Ashutosh Maharaj dead clinically but the dera management has kept his body in a freezer, saying he's in samadhi (deep meditation).

The station house officer (SHO) of Nurmahal has submitted that respecting the faith of the dera followers, it would be inappropriate to go for autopsy, as that would damage the body. "It is their belief that the postmortem examination will render the body unfit for Ashutosh's awakening from Samadhi," the police officer has submitted.

The police submitted that there was no material evidence that warranted inquest proceedings in the case and the petitioner, Puran Singh, former driver of Ashutosh, was in the habit of making baseless allegations against the sansthan.

The submission was made during the resumed hearing of the petition by Puran Singh for getting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the case and bringing the body out of freezer for autopsy.

Pruan Singh has accused the dera management of holding on to the body to usurp the sansthan's property worth almost Rs 1,000 crore. The next hearing is on May 27.