Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday offered his condolences to spiritual leader Bhayyuji Maharaj, who allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself at his Indore residence.
Chauhan described Bhayyuji as a person, who was a confluence of culture, knowledge and selfless service.
"My tribute to saint Bhayyuji Maharaj. The country has lost a person who was a confluence of culture, knowledge and selfless service," Chauhan wrote on Twitter.
Chouhan further said that the demise of Bhayyuji Maharaj has caused personal loss to innumerable people to whom the former, through his spiritual knowledge, had taught the way of living.
Meanwhile, the police have recovered Bhayyuji's suicide note and pistol.
"All aspects of the case are being investigated. Family members will also be questioned," Inspector General of Police (IGP) Makrand Deoskar said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Harinarayanchari Mishra said that Bhayyuji had mentioned mental tension in the suicide note as the reason for his alleged suicide.
He further said the investigation for the cause of his death is underway.
"We have seized the suicide note. In the suicide note, he has mentioned mental tension, but the reason for the tension is not known as yet," DIG Mishra stated.
Bhayyuji, whose real name is Udaysingh Deshmukh, had a strong following in Maharashtra and was known to have political connections with the state leaders. He announced his retirement from public life in 2016.
He was associated with key leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress Party and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for a long time.
Bhayyuji earned national attention in 2011 when he had a dialogue with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill, when the latter was on an indefinite hunger strike and refused to discuss the bill with the Centre.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)