The late president of All India Akhara Parishad, the apex body of the Sanatan order, Mahant Narendra Giri Maharaj (File Photo | PTI)
The unnatural death of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad head Mahant Narendra Giri is getting curiouser. A gritty seer who was president of the largest organisation of saints in the country, he commanded respect within the 13 akharas he led. His purported suicide note said he feared that his former disciple, Anand Giri, would frame him by releasing morphed photographs of him with women on social media.
Anand Giri has since been arrested. Social media is abuzz with photos of Anand Giri draped in orange robes and posing in fast cars, luxury yachts and flashy motorcycles, presumably somewhere in Australia. The accused’s detractors also claim he is currently constructing a huge ashram in Haridwar on the banks of the holy Ganga, flouting environmental laws, and with funds embezzled from a temple managed by Mahant Narendra Giri’s akhara.
While the autopsy report cites asphyxiation due to hanging as the reason behind his death, the Niranjani Akhara, to which the mahant belonged before taking over as head of the Akhara Parishad, refuses to accept the suicide theory. Their challenge to the purported 15-page suicide note is that he did not know how to write, adding he only knew how to append his signature. Another point of contention is the name of the successor, Mahant Balbir Giri, mentioned in the note. The Akhara Parishad finds it odd, since the mahant belongs to the Puri order and not Giri. It’s a blunder Mahant Narendra Giri couldn’t have committed, making the note more suspicious, they contend. Given the contentious claims, the government ought to do a thorough investigation to unravel the actual reasons behind the untimely death.
The unfortunate incident also brings into focus the question of temple management, particularly the humongous amounts of funds they generate through donations and prasad. One of the triggers for the dispute between the mahant and his disciple is said to be land worth Rs 40 crore. But temple fund management is a hot button issue, with devotees and seers ranged against any government attempt to seize control. It would be in the fitness of things if some form of self-regulation is introduced for financial oversight of the trusts that run them in the interest of probity, transparency and accountability.
