The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Case foisted on me, Acharya tells lawyers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Case foisted on me, Acharya tells lawyers

By P.V.V. Murthi

VELLORE, NOV.14. The Kanchi Acharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, lodged in the Central prison here in connection with the murder of Sankararaman, manager of Sri Varadarajaswamy Temple, Kancheepuram, reportedly told the Mutt lawyers, Mr. Thyagarajan and Mr. Chellappa, who met him today that the case had been "foisted" on him. He had asked them to take all legal measures to defend him.

In good health

Mr. Thyagarajan told newspersons, after a 20-minute meeting with the Kanchi seer, that the Acharya told him he had no grievance about the treatment meted out to him in the jail. "Though he looked weary, he is in good health", he said. The Acharya has sent word to his disciples, supporters, well-wishers and devotees of the Kanchi Mutt to carry on their regular duties and poojas without being worried about his imprisonment or unnecessarily waiting outside the jail to meet him.

Mr. Thyagarajan said that he had briefed him about the proceedings in the Madras High Court on Saturday. "But I cannot divulge to you what we spoke about the case," he said.

V. Krishnaswamy, a Thanjavur lawyer who met him this morning, said that the Sankaracharya enquired about the mood of the people. "I was pained to see him in this condition," he said.

Accepts prison food

Enquiries revealed that the Acharya took the food offered to him in jail. His diet consists of curd rice in the morning and chappathis in the evening; he is taking tablets for diabetes.His health was found normal during the routine medical examination conducted on his arrival by the Joint Director of Medical Services, M. Shanmugam and the Deputy Director of Medical and Rural Health Services, Purushotham Vijayakumar, on Friday. The prison doctor examined him on Saturday and Sunday said that his health was normal, prison sources said.

The Kanchi seer has been confined in a closed prisoner's cell, having a toilet and drinking water facilities, away from the general ones where other inmates are kept. The prison authorities have taken adequate precautions taking into consideration the fact that some religious extremists are also lodged inside.But for this isolation, the Sankaracharya is given the same treatment as other prisoners. Besides being served prison food, he has to lie on the floor, with the carpet and blanket given by the prison authorities.

Sri Jayendra Saraswathi gets up at 6 a.m. in the morning and does his daily poojas,after a hot water bath. He blessed the lawyers who met him on Sunday with `vibhoothi' and `kumkum.' Though the lawyers, who wanted to meet the Acharya on Saturday were not allowed to do so, citing prison rules that no interview was permitted on holidays, those who sought the interview on Sunday were allowed to meet him by the jail superintendent, using his discretionary powers.

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