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Hindu Priest Denied Bail in Murder Case

A court in south India yesterday denied bail to a prominent Hindu priest accused of involvement in the murder of an aide who questioned the financial records of a temple in Tamil Nadu state. Judge R. Balasubramanian of Madras High Court, denying bail to Jayendra Saraswathi, cited a law banning bail to any person when there were reasonable grounds to believe they could be guilty of offenses punishable by death or a life sentence. Saraswathi, 71, and the head of a 2,500-year-old temple at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, is the most powerful of Hinduism's four main leaders. He was arrested last month over the death of Thiru Sankararaman, 52, once a close aide but later a sharp critic. Saraswathi has since remained in judicial custody on suspicion of murder, criminal conspiracy and suppression of evidence over the death of Sankararaman in September. He has not been formally charged. This was the second time the court denied a bail plea.

The detention of Saraswathi following his arrest on Nov. 11 has enraged Hindu activists who have staged nationwide protests. His cause has been taken up in New Delhi by the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has staged protests near Parliament. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also written to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayaram Jayalalitha, asking her to ensure the investigations against a "person of his eminence' are conducted "with extreme care and consideration." Media reports say Sankararaman had alleged financial irregularities at the spiritual institution headed by Saraswathi that controls assets worth more than 50 billion rupees ($1.14 billion). Jayalalitha has said police had "shocking but solid" evidence to prove the cleric's direct involvement in Sankararaman's murder. Police have said the aide was stabbed to death by killers hired for money.
Posted by: Fred 2004-12-09

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