
Thousands throng to pay homage to Mahesh Yogi
Thousands of followers and admirers of the icon of transcendental meditation swarmed on Sunday at the Maharishi Ved Vidyapeeth in Allahabad to pay their homage to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who died at his spiritual headquarters in the Netherlands last week.
Hundreds of his foreign devotees thronged in and around the institute on the sprawling 120-acre campus on the banks of the Sangam - the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the now dried Saraswati rivers - regarded by the Hindus as the holiest of the holy spots for taking a dip to wash off one's sins.
The last rites of the sage would be performed on a specially erected platform on a mound at the far end of the institute overlooking the Sangam at 11.00 am on Monday.
Widely revered spiritualist Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is expected to join the cremation ceremony. Famous Hollywood filmmaker David Lynch also flew down all the way from Los Angeles to attend the funeral. Minister of state for food processing Subodh Kant Sahay will represent the central government.
Throughout the day, people kept pouring in at the institute where the body of the Maharishi was kept after being flown in by a chartered plane here on Saturday.
Made to sit in an upright position with his eyes closed, the guru appeared to be in a sadhana (meditation) mode on a white draped and flower bedecked platform.
Scores of wreaths were placed all around the platform adorned with marigold chains and covered with rose petals.
While a group of 10 students pursuing Vedic studies at the institute continuously recited from the religious scriptures, the Maharishi's handpicked disciples from different corners of the globe listened with rapt attention.
These included the 35 rajas (kings) and 13 ministers nominated by the Maharishi himself to carry on his organization, now spread across 130 nations.
The Maharishi's closest disciple, Tony Abu Nadar (from Lebanon) - renamed Maharajadhiraj Raja Ram - was named the head of his multi-billion dollar legacy.
However, as per the yogi's will, he would function on the advice of the rajas and ministers.
Each of the rajas appointed as "in-charge" of different countries was easily discernable because of their respective regalia which included white brocade sherwani, golden medallion and to top it all a golden crown.
Hectic preparations continued until late evening for the grand funeral on Saturday.

Toolkit case: Shantanu Muluk’s bail plea hearing today

CBI names TMC youth leader in charge-sheet of cattle smuggling case
- Earlier this month, CBI in the first charge-sheet in the case had named BSF Commandant Satish Kumar and Murshidabad-based businessman Enamul Haque along with five others for their alleged involvement in cattle smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border.

Top court proposes cadre of magistrates to fill gaps in police investigation
- The bench, also comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat apart from Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde were of the view that magistrates should play a more “intrusive” role in investigation.

College student in Andhra Pradesh killed for rejecting marriage proposal
- Police said the accused and the victim were in a relationship for a year, but of late she had been avoiding him.

Higher fares for short distance trains to discourage needless travel: Railways
- The national carrier at present is operating only special passenger trains since the curbs on lockdown were eased. Regular passenger trains have been suspended since March 25, 2020.

New strains not more infectious, need to aggressively monitor situation: Guleria

2 security personnel killed in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur in Maoist attacks
- Both the casualties took place due to IED blasts.

Govt clarifies on controversy over Motera stadium being named after PM

India plans new social media controls after Twitter face-off

Differences in Meghalaya BJP intensifies, coalition govt comes under strain
- The BJP unit has also been at loggerheads with the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) dispensation with its chief Earnest Mawrie accusing it of anomalies in governance.

UP cops hunt for clues into case of college girl found with burn injuries
- Shahjahanpur’s superintendent of police S Anand, SP, denied reports that the girl was burnt after a failed rape attempt

Expert team widens mouth of lake formed upstream Rishiganga for faster drainage
- An expert team is trying to drain out the lake to prevent another tragedy like the Chamoli flash flood.

Amid Covid-19 fears, thousands throng Telangana’s Sammakka-Saralamma festival
- The tribal fair draws devotees not only from Telangana, but also from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

West Bengal makes RT-PCR tests mandatory for arrivals from Maha, 3 other states
- The notice released by the state government stated “All passengers coming to West Bengal from the aforementioned 4 states shall mandatorily carry a covid negative RT-PCR report for such test conducted within 72 hours of flight departure.”

2 terrorists killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’ Anantnag
- The police said they were ascertaining the identities and affiliation of the two terrorists.