Prayagraj: The hearing of the bail application of Anand Giri - the prime accused in the murder case of Akhara Parishad President Mahanth Giri - was postponed by the High Court on Monday. The court deferred the matter to February 24, in the purview of new pieces of information emerging in the case. CBI's advocate Sanjay Yadav informed the court that as told by the Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Anand Giri was detained by Sydney Police on charges of molestation, but was later released to come to India.
Gopal Swaroop Chaturvedi, the senior advocate of the petitioner, said that the sources have confirmed that the arrest was made in Australia. Following this information, the bench led by Justice Rajiv Gupta has ordered the the CBI to take information from Australia. The court also passed the orders to file all the received information through an affidavit in a week, and has deferred the further hearing until February 24.
Mahant Narendra Giri, president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, was found dead at his Baghambri Math ashram on September 20, 2021. In the initial investigation, the police had recovered 6 pages of suicide notes from the spot, in which his disciple Anand Giri, Agha Tiwari and one other were named. Consequently, a charge of abetment to suicide has been lodged against Anand Giri and two others in the First Information Report (FIR) under Section 306.
After his arrest, Giri had filed a bail petition at the Subordinate Court. The court had however rejected the bail application, after which Giri approached the High Court. Giri has also denied all the allegations saying that he himself and the other people named in the suicide note are being framed under a conspiracy.
Also read: Mahant Narendra Giri suicide: Akhara Parishad cries foul, demands CBI enquiry
