The Hindu : National : Sankaracharya was not informed of arrest, say mutt volunteers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

National

National

Sankaracharya was not informed of arrest, say mutt volunteers

By V. Jayanth

KANCHEEPURAM, NOV. 18. The Tamil Nadu police team that took the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, into custody last week in Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, did not inform him that he had been arrested until he arrived in Chennai, according to volunteers of the mutt who were with him during the police action.

They said Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was only asked to "cooperate with the investigation'' and told that police would like him to come to Kancheepuram for interrogation. "When he suggested that they could leave early the next morning, instead of at 10 p.m., they refused and assured him that he could return to Mahbubnagar the next evening,'' an advocate said.

He emphasised that there was no mention of any warrant and the mutt was not allowed to videograph the departure of the Acharya.

The mutt's functionaries denied the Government and police assertion that Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was about to leave for Nepal. "He wanted to leave the next day for Srisailam for Karthika Somavaram. The Sankaracharya's programme for the whole month had already been furnished to the Tamil Nadu Government and police, who provide security. He was planning to move over to Mangalore, Udipi and the Mookambika temple this month-end,'' a senior mutt official said.

Asked about the presence of Raghu, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi's brother along with the Acharya, the official said: "He has been with the junior Acharya all through. There was no shred of evidence in the reports that he was interrogated recently, or that he was ready to turn approver or that his arrest is imminent. We would urge all concerned not to convert the investigation into propaganda against the mutt.''

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National