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Narendra Giri ‘suicide’ case: Anand Giri shifted to Chitrakoot jail
In his purported suicide note, Narendra Giri, the then Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad president, had accused Anand Giri and two others of mental harassment
Anand Giri, the disciple of former president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) Mahant Narendra Giri, who was arrested on charges of abetment to suicide of his guru that took place on September 20, 2021, and had been in Naini central jail of Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district since then was shifted to Chitrakoot jail on Friday.
His lawyer had recently alleged that Anand Giri was being harassed in the Naini jail. Anand Giri was escorted to Chitrakoot jail early on Friday amidst tight security, said Naini jail officials. Senior superintendent of Naini central jail PN Pandey said Giri had been shifted on administrative grounds.
Anand Giri’s lawyer Vijay Dwivedi, however, alleged that Giri was shifted under a conspiracy. “No action has been taken against the deputy jailor who issued life threats to him and instead Anand Giri has been shifted to another jail,” he alleged. Dwivedi further alleged that his client was being harassed at Naini jail for the past nine months.
Lawyer Vijay Dwivedi had gone to meet Anand Giri on August 16. After meeting Giri, he alleged that deputy jailor RK Singh had used inappropriate language and issued life threats to Anand Giri. He claimed that the prison official called jail guards when he, as Giri’s lawyer, protested this. Vijay Dwivedi claimed that he later lodged a complaint with senior superintendent of Naini Jail PN Pandey.
In his complaint, Dwivedi alleged that Anand Giri was being harassed at Naini jail and was allowed outside his barracks for only one hour for performing puja.
Mahant Narendra Giri’s body was found hanging from the ceiling of a room at Baghambari Gaddi Math under the Georgetown police station limits in Prayagraj district on September 20, 2021. At the time, Narendra Giri was the president of ABAP, the top decision-making body of 13 recognised Hindu monastic orders of the country.
In his purported suicide note, Narendra Giri had accused Anand Giri and two others of mental harassment. An FIR was lodged against the three accused under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Georgetown police station in Prayagraj.
Subsequently, Anand Giri and two others were arrested. They were produced before the chief judicial magistrate’s court on September 22, 2021 and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and sent to jail. Later, on the recommendation of the state government, the investigation of the case was transferred to the CBI. The CBI had submitted its chargesheet on November 20, 2021.
