Was Threatened Over "Morphed Image With Woman", Seer Narendra Giri Wrote

Narendra Giri, a top religious leader who allegedly died by suicide on Monday, was under pressure over what he called a "morphed image with a woman", according to a note the police found near his body at his ashram in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.

Three disciples mentioned in the note - Anand Giri, Aadya Tiwari and Sandeep Tiwari - were arrested yesterday.

Narendra Giri, the head of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, alleged harassment by the three in the note, which was shared by a senior government official on a media group with no comments.

Twice in the note, the seer said Anand Giri was going to attempt circulating a "morphed image" of him with a woman and making it viral, which would "bring him shame".

It was better to die than to live with shame, he reportedly wrote. He also said he was deeply disturbed by Anand Giri's false allegations of financial irregularities.

Soon after the seer was found dead, Anand Giri had alleged a conspiracy "by people who used to extort money from Narendra Giri".

"It is a big conspiracy by people who used to extort money from Guruji and wrote my name in the letter. It needs to be investigated as guru Ji has not written a letter in his life and could not do suicide. His handwriting needs to be probed," he had said.

"I have spent my entire life over there and never took any money. Everything was good between me and Guru Ji. Hence I request the government to investigate the matter thoroughly," Anand Giri had claimed.

Anand Giri was allegedly expelled by the seer over allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement. There was an apparent patch-up, with a video showing Anand Giri seeking forgiveness at the feet of his mentor.

The police said on the alleged suicide note that Narendra Giri had talked about being depressed.

"We are reading the note. He expressed he was upset. He also wrote what should be done with the ashram after his passing, in the form of a will," senior Prayagraj police official KP Singh told reporters on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath yesterday visited Narendra Giri's ashram and said "the culprit will not be spared". Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav demanded an investigation, raising questions about the death.