Letter-petition to Allahabad HC chief justice seeks CBI inquiry into death of Mahant Narendra Giri

A letter-petition has been sent to the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court, seeking a CBI probe into the death of Mahant Narendra Giri, the president of Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad.

The seer's body was found hanging from the ceiling by his disciples at Baghambari Muth here on Monday.

Sunil Choudhary, a lawyer, had mailed the letter-petition to the chief justice of the high court at midnight.

Choudhary said according to some news portals, a high-ranked UP police officer and a land mafia were allegedly involved in the case.

In the letter, a request has been made to treat it as a public interest litigation (PIL) and to ensure a fair investigation into the case.

The probe must be transferred to the CBI and the state government be directed to suspend the Allahabad district magistrate and the SSP, the letter-petition added.

Choudhary claimed that some residents of Baghambari Muth had told him that the incident took place due to huge misappropriation of funds.

''The Mahant was provided security by the state government. How can such an incident take place in the presence of a huge number of disciples and security officials?'' the letter-petition stated.

A purported suicide note of seven-eight pages was also found at the site in which the seer had written that he was mentally disturbed and was ending his life. The seer had written he was upset with one of his disciples, according to police.