Self-styled spiritual leader Bhaiyyu Maharaj shot himself at his Indore home on Tuesday. He was close to many prominent personalities from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In April 2018, he was offered the Minister of State (MoS) rank by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh. He refused the offer saying, “A post holds no importance for a saint”. The 50-year-old shot himself over ‘domestic issues’. Two domestic helps were present in the house when the incident happened. Hearing the gunshot sound, the domestic helps rushed to the room but found the door locked from inside. They broke open the door to find him slumped on a bean bag with his licensed revolver. He was rushed to the Bombay Hospital in Indore, where doctors declared him dead. A suicide note was found at the spot, which mentioned that he was ‘fed up’ and was unable to fight stress. Several politicians expressed shock and anguish over his untimely death.
Here are 10 major facts about the model turned spiritual leader:
- Born on April 29, 1968, in Shujalpur city of Madhya Pradesh, Bhaiyyu Maharaj’s real name was Udaysingh Deshmukh. He belonged to a family of landowner agriculturists.
- Before he became a spiritual guru, the Science graduate worked as a model for Siyaram Suiting.
- He has been into social and spiritual works since the age of 23.
- He traveled in a white Mercedes SUV and was fond of Rolex watches.
- Bhaiyyu Maharaj had an ashram in Indore’s Bapat Chowk. The ashram is said to be visited by Narendra Modi, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Pratibha Patil, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
- He ran a trust named ‘Shri Sadguru Datta Dharmik Evam Parmarthik Trust’ in Indore. Established in 1996, the trust aimed to inculcate the spirit of nationhood and inculcate the spirit of liveliness in each human being.
- His first wife Madhvi died in 2015. Two years after her death, he married Dr Ayushi Sharma from MP’s Shivpuri. His marriage, however, sparked controversy after a Mumbai-based actor and writer accused him of cheating on her by making her write his biography and not pay the promised remuneration. His daughter Kuhu, from his first marriage, studies in Pune.
- He shot to limelight in August 2011, when the UPA government asked him to meditate on their behalf to persuade social activist Anna Hazare to call off his fast at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi over the Lokpal issue.
- In September 2011, Bhaiyyu Maharaj was invited by Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, to end his three-day Sadbhavna Vrat at Ahmedabad.
- In 2016, he met with an accident and was injured. Among those who visited Bhaiyyu Maharaj included RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and then Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel.