Cash, jewellery found in Mahant Narendra Giri's room

The state government had recommended a CBI probe into the death of the mahant. The room was opened on the plea of Mahant Balbir Giri who had moved the court demanding that all the property and cash inside the mutt is not the case property and hence must be returned.

Prayagraj:Huge amounts of cash, jewellery and property-related documents have been recovered from the sealed room of Mahant Narendra Giri, who died by suicide a year ago. A three-member Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team on Thursday opened the Mahant's room a year after his death at Baghambari Mutt here. According to sources, the recovered cash amounted to a whopping Rs 2.5 crore.

The whole act of recovering the items was also videographed by the CBI team. The room was opened on the plea of Mahant Balbir Giri who had moved the court demanding that all the property and cash inside the mutt is not the case property and hence must be returned. The court had passed the order following which CBI team in presence of ACM (III) Abhinav Kanojia, ACM (IV) Ganesh Kumar and police circle officer (IV) Rajesh Yadav along with a bank officer took out the cash and jewellery and handed it over to the mutt authorities.

On September 20 last year, Mahant Narendra Giri, 62, the president of Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), was found dead at Shri Mutt Baghambari Mutt. Thereafter, the state government had recommended a CBI probe into the death of the mahant. The CBI had taken over the case on September 24 lodging an FIR under charges of abetment to suicide against the Mahant's disciple Anand Giri.

After a month of investigation, the probe agency filed a charge sheet, stating that Anand Giri, Adya Tiwari and Sandeep Tiwari had circulated an objectionable audio defaming the reputation of the late mahant and mounted immense mental and psychological pressure on him, forcing him to end his life. The three were booked under the charges of abetting suicide. (IANS)