By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi: The head of the largest religious body of Hindu ascetics in India was found dead on September 20.

The police said Narendra Giri, leader of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room at Baghambari Gaddi Math in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj town. He was 62.

He was the chief priest of the Bade Hanuman temple of Prayagraj.

Anand Giri, a disciple of Narendra Giri, was detained at Haridwar, following the discovery of a suicide note from the top religious leader. The note reportedly blamed Anad Giri and two others.

“Based on the suicide note, we detained Anand Giri in Haridwar with help of Uttarakhand police. Anand Giri is being brought to UP for further questioning,” said Prashant Kumar, ADG (law and order), Uttar Pradesh.

The seer also wrote what should be done with the ashram after his death, in the form of a will, senior Prayagraj police official K P Singh told reporters.

Singh said the police had received a call around 5:25 pm from the disciples at the ashram. They said the seer’s room was bolted from inside.

A large number of people assembled outside the ashram as the news spread in Prayagraj.

Politicians of all parties used to visit Narendra Giri in Prayagraj, a highly influential seer

Narendra Giri’s death has been mourned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other political leaders.

Narendra Giri hailed from the trans-Ganga area of Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad. He belonged to one of India’s ancient monastic orders.

He was elected president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, in 2014 for a five-year term. The Parishad is the apex decision-making body of the 13 recognized Hindu monastic orders in India. In 2019, he was re-elected at a meeting of the Parishad held at Haridwar.

In May this year, Giri reportedly had a fallout with his disciple, Swami Anand Giri, who was accused of continuing his connections with his family in violation of the set norms of sanyas. He was also accused of financial irregularities.

Anand Giri was then expelled from the ashram. However, he formally sought forgiveness from Narendra Giri and another seer. Narendra Giri had then forgiven him and allowed entry into the ashram.