UP CM Yogi Adityanath pays last respects to Mahant Narendra Giri

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday paid his last respects to Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) President Mahant Narendra Giri at his Baghambari Math residence located in Prayagraj.

Paying floral tributes to the ABAP president, the chief minister expressed his grief and said that the demise of Mahant Giri is an irreparable loss to the spiritual and religious world.

"I remember how he gave his unconditional support to make Prayagraj Kumbh 2019 an international level event. His contribution to religious society is unforgettable," he stated.

"It is very sad that he is not with us today. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give peace to his soul," he added.

Adityanath further informed that several pieces of evidence have been collected regarding the incident and a team of senior police officials including ADG Zone, IG Range, DIG Prayagraj is investigating the case.

"As per the wishes of his disciples and followers, his body will be kept today at Baghambari Math for people to pay last respects. The postmortem will be done tomorrow and the culprit will not be spared," he stated.

"I politely request everyone to not give unnecessary statements during the process and let the investigating agencies do their work," he added.

Mahant Narendra Giri was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his Baghambari Math located residence on Monday.

A suicide note was recovered, in which the names of his disciples, Anand Giri and two others were mentioned, following which an FIR was registered against Anand Giri under Section 306 of IPC (abetment of suicide) on the basis of a complaint filed by another disciple Amar Giri Pawan Maharaj.

Earlier in the day, the police took Anand, who termed the allegation as conspiracy, into custody.

"It is a big conspiracy by people who used to extort money from Guruji and wrote my name in the letter. It needs to be investigated as Guruji has not written a letter in his life and could not do suicide. His handwriting needs to be probed," he stated.

( With inputs from ANI )