The CBI has charged three people, including Anand Giri, with abetment and criminal conspiracy in connection with the alleged suicide of Mahant Narendra Giri - the head of top religious body Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad who was found hanging in his ashram in UP's Prayagraj in September.
Apart from Anand, who was Narendra Giri's disciple, Adya Prasad Tiwari and Sandeep Tiwari were also named in the chargesheet. All three had been named in Narendra Giri's suicide note; he accused them of mentally harassing him, following which the police filed a FIR with charges of abetting suicide.
All three accused are already in jail, having been arrested 24 hours after Narendra Giri's death.
And 48 hours after that the CBI took over the case on the recommendation of the UP government.
The agency has recovered tapes of conversations between the accused and these have been sent for forensic examination. It has also moved the court to record voice samples from Anand Giri and the other accused, which they want to compare to the recovered tapes.
The accused had refused to consent to voice recordings.
In September police said Narendra Giri had recorded a video on his mobile phone - an hour before his alleged suicide - in which he said he was afraid Anand Giri wanted to make a morphed photo of him with a woman, and that he (his disciple) wanted to shame him.
Police said the video allegations match the 13-page suicide note found near his body. Police also said in the note Narendra Giri accused all three men of blackmailing him and spoke about being depressed.
Anand Giri - who was the virtual No 2 in the ashram - had been expelled by Narendra Giri earlier this year over allegations of financial fraud and irregularities, but apparently returned.
A video showed him seeking forgiveness from his mentor, but the patch-up was short-lived and accusations of blackmail resurfaced.
Soon after the seer was found dead, Anand Giri - details of whose flashy lifestyle, which apparently included skydiving trips in Australia and driving Lamborghini sportscars at a race track, soon made headlines - alleged a conspiracy "by people who used to extort money from Narendra Giri".
Prime Minister Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other political leaders were among those to tweet their condolences for Narendra Giri's death.
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