Mystery into Bandra swami’s death deepens

MUMBAI, November 29: The mystery into the kidnapping and subsequent death of Swami Mahant Bhagwan Puri of Khadeshwari temple at Bandstand...

MUMBAI, November 29: The mystery into the kidnapping and subsequent death of Swami Mahant Bhagwan Puri of Khadeshwari temple at Bandstand, Bandra has deepened with a file related to the case going missing from the Cooper Coroner’s Court. A member of the jury that was hearing the case, requesting anonymity, told Express Newsline that due to this the case has not been heard since July this year. The hearing was first postponed from to July 30 to September 22 and then to November 11 and then again till further notice.

Sixty-five-old Bhagwan Mahant Puri was abducted by three unidentified persons at gunpoint from near the Khadeshwari Temple near Band Stand opposite Hotel Searock when he had gone for a morning walk on April 17 last year. Soon after his release three days later he had told this newspaper that some land sharks were trying to grab the 9000 sq meter temple complex for construction of a high-rise building. He had also revealed that local politicians were trying to overrun the trust governingthe temple to grab the plot.

However, even before investigations into his mysterious kidnapping could be completed, the mahant allegedly committed suicide by consuming kerosene laced with some insecticide in the temple complex on May 18. The Bandra police referred it to the Cooper Coroner to establish whether any foul play was involved the mahant’s death.

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Mahant Sahyogi, who is now in-charge of the Khadeshwari Temple, on Saturday told this reporter that no progress had been made in the case 18 months after the mahant’s death. The temple authorities, he said, had written to the state government but no action was initiated. He said he suspected a high-level conspiracy to bury the case. Mahant Puri had moved into Khadeshwari temple hugging the Bandra Fort in 1977 after he migrated to the city from a math in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Additional Chief Coroner at Cooper Hospital Chandrakant Kamble refused to speak when this reporter tried to contact him on Friday afternoon. Court registrar, R D Sawant,said permission from the Home Department was necessary before an interview could be arranged with Kamble.

The Bandra police, who are investigating the case, admitted there has been no significant development in the case after it was handed over to the Coroner’s Court. “We are awaiting a report from the court before investigations could be resumed,” said a senior officer.