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Pontiff among three held for abetting suicide of seer in Karnataka
Three people were arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of Basavalingeshwara Swami, a senior police officer said on Sunday, adding that they were blackmailing him
Three people were arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of Basavalingeshwara Swami — the head pontiff of the Kanchugal Bandemutt in Ramanagara district of Karnataka — a senior police officer said on Sunday, adding that they were blackmailing him.
Ramanagara district superintendent of police K Santosh Babu identified the three accused as Mrutyunjaya Swami of the Kannur mutt; a female engineering student from Doddaballapura; and Kannur mutt’s advocate Mahadevaiah.
The Kudur police booked the three on Sunday under IPC 306 (Abetment of suicide) and 34 (conspiracy), and produced the accused before a local court in Ramanagara, which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.
Basavalingeshwara Swami was found dead in a room in his monastery on Monday last week. Police had recovered a three-page purported suicide note and registered a case of unnatural death at the Kudur police station. They did not divulge the contents of the purported suicide note. The mobile phones used by the seer were sent to the forensic sciences laboratory (FSL) for examination after mutt officials alleged he was being blackmailed.
SP Babu told HT on Sunday that they had unearthed evidence that the pontiff was being blackmailed.
‘‘After a thorough investigation, the police team succeeded in cracking the case and arrested three accused. The accused were blackmailing the pontiff for money,” Babu told HT. He said the plan was hatched in February.
The student allegedly recorded the videos and sent them to Mrutyunjaya Swami and later Mahadevaiah circulated the videos to other pontiffs after Basavalingeshwara Swami did not yield to blackmail, said another police officer privy to the case, asking not to be named.
“Kannur pontiff Mrutyunjaya Swami and deceased Basavalinga Swami were cousins before becoming seers. Both had a lot of property litigation. The Kannur Pontiff hatched a plan to oust Swamiji due to jealousy and revenge through this conspiracy,” said the officer.
A third police officer who was part of the investigation team told HT that the videos may have been recorded in April 2021. The deceased clearly mentioned the name of the Kannur mutt pontiff in the suicide note, said the officer, also asking not to be named.
A mutt official who did not wish to be identified had alleged on Wednesday last week that the pontiff was being blackmailed for access to properties of the mutt, estimated to be worth ₹50 crore.
Meanwhile, a third video of the seer’s call with the woman surfaced on social media on Saturday. Two videos had been leaked earlier.
