The Hindu : National : Acharya's arrest: lack of crisis management

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Sunday, Dec 05, 2004

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Acharya's arrest: lack of crisis management

By V.Jayanth

CHENNAI: It is more than three weeks since the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, was arrested in Mahbubnagar and named the first accused in a case of murder — of the manager of the Sri Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram. Though the special investigation team handling the case is trying to track down the two most wanted accused — "Appu" and Ravi Subramanian — things have not gone smoothly either for the Acharya or for the Sankara Mutt. It is a crisis management approach that seems to be lacking, especially in the face of a most aggressive investigation and a parallel probe by the media.

At a time when the police team has gone all out to dig up every case that can be linked in any way to the Sankara Mutt and when sections of the media are weaving a web of sleaze, devotees are wondering if the Mutt is indeed putting up a concerted defence of the cases. There is a definite feeling that the Sankaracharya can put together a more effective team of criminal lawyers who can take on the aggressive prosecution. Too many legal setbacks at this stage can spoil the atmosphere and send wrong signals, the devotees say.

Devotees' anguish

The first question agitating the minds of the devotees is: why did the defence not press for getting the Acharya remanded in a different place, say, a guest house? Except on the morning of the first day when a bail application was filed before the Madras High Court, there has been no mention of this possibility. The Acharya's lawyers have concentrated on his bail, though it has already been rejected once and hearing is to continue on a second appeal on Monday.

Although the prosecution seemed to make a few slips in its arguments and counters, these were not seriously challenged. The controversy over the Sankaracharya allegedly admitting to his role in the crime — a bombshell dropped in court by the prosecution, which claimed that the police had a video recording — has unnerved many followers. It is one thing to say that such "confessions" are not admissible as evidence in a court of law. But for lawyers defending the case, the assertion takes the sting out of their arguments. It also makes a huge public impact through media coverage of the claim.

Witch-hunt?

There is also the whiff of charges linking some Mutt functionaries to scandals involving sexual exploitation of women. A question arises as to why the police should be diluting its focus through airing such matters instead of concentrating exclusively on the murder case. This leads to allegations that the police are on a "witch-hunt" to besmirch the name of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, and his followers feel that the objective seems to be to bring the Mutt to disrepute.

According to police sources, most of the leads being pursued by the investigation stem from the "Somasekara Ganabadi" letters, which were purportedly written by Sankararaman, during the run-up to his brutal murder on September 3, 2004. The murderous attack on an auditor Radhakrishnan in Mandaveli and on Thirukottiyur Madhavan in Thousand Lights, also in Chennai, have been linked to the gang allegedly involved in the murder of Sankararaman. "Since we have launched a major investigation, we are only looking into all connected complaints," explains a police official.

Mutt getting divided?

Disturbingly for the Kanchi Mutt devotees, the police are hoping to have some prosecution witnesses drawn from the Mutt and its followers to bolster the murder case they are investigating. And this attempt by the police appears to be dividing the Mutt's establishment.

Independent of how the case proceeds and develops, the crisis of confidence in the Sankara Mutt needs to be addressed — and soon. Without going into any contentious question of choosing another Sankaracharya — sooner or later — it is time the junior Sankaracharya, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, demonstrated his leadership and put the Mutt together again.

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