 Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu yesterday claimed that Jayendra Saraswathi, the Shankaracharya of Kamakoti Mutt, had confessed to his complicity in the murder of a former associate of the religious establishment.
| "I dunnit! I dunnit an' I'm glad!" |
Police also added a new sex angle to the case, claiming Saraswathi had unspecified relationship with a woman, whose involvement in the murder also needed to be probed.
| See? Cherchez la femme. I'll betcha she's a mysterious lady who wears a veil and packs a .38... |
Opposing the bail application filed by Saraswathi, counsel for police told the Madras High Court that Saraswathi had broken down during his custodial interrogation last week and admitted his complicity. In a written affidavit filed by police, the investigating officer claimed Saraswathi was in the habit of having long telephone conversations with Usha, a woman deserted by her husband, who the police said had been provided with a house by Saraswathi in Srirangam, about 300 km from here.
| A holy man keeping a mysterious veiled lady in a love nest... Boy, that's never happened before, has it? |
"Substantial sums of money had been periodically transferred to her account. She has withdrawn the entire money from her account and is now on the run,'' police said.
| "Mr. Marlowe! You've got to help me! I have no one to turn to!" |
The police affidavit said there was reason to believe that the Shankaracharya feared that his relationship with the woman would be exposed by Thiru Sankararaman, the manager of the mutt of whose murder the Shankaracharya is accused.
| Uhuh. Being blackmailed by the mutt manager, was he? And he got tired of paying... |
Police said they had "credible and unassailable material evidence'' of Saraswathi's involvement in the conspiracy to murder Sankararaman. Saraswathi himself had revealed his complicity in clear terms during his custodial interrogation, which was video-taped in full. Police said Sankararaman had moved court, seeking accounts from the mutt for the gold it had acquired for gold plating a chariot for a temple in Kanchipuram. The gold plating was done under the supervision and guidance of Saraswathi. Although 100 kg of gold was bought for the purpose, only 35 kg was used and the remaining 65 kg was unaccounted for.
| So now there's a hidden stash of gold, to boot. Try digging under the grape arbor... |
Before he was murdered, Sankararaman had been trying to investigate the presence of women in the mutt after 10 p.m., the "irreligious activities'' of the Shankaracharya and the trusts floated by him and also the extravagant lifestyle of his relatives.
| "Sankararaman knows too much, Muggsy. Somethin's gotta be done..." |
Police also pointed out that Saraswathi, even while in custody, was able to wield enough influence to force two of the key witnesses to retract their confessional statements, and if let out on bail could easily derail the investigation. Judge R. Balasubramaniam, who is hearing the bail application, adjourned the case until today.
| He left the courthouse with a shovel... |
The Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party reacted sharply to the prosecutor's statement. "Don't read such news. Don't hear such news. This phase will also be over," BJP spokeswoman Sushma Swaraj said. "It is absolutely baseless. Never, never has he confessed to the crime," she said, adding the implication of the religious leader being involved in the murder was a direct affront to Hinduism.
| I think Mr. Prosecutor should be careful starting his car. And don't even think about meeting an informant in the dead of night down by the old warehouse — especially if the caller's the Mysterious Veiled Lady... |
| I wondered where Lucy Ramirez got to |
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