Godman suicide: Won't conclude anything in haste, says police

An initial probe into the

alleged suicide by spiritual guru Bhaiyuji Maharaj has found that he was going through domestic discord but the police said it is probing the incident from various angles and would not draw any hasty conclusions.

The 50-year-old Maharaj, whose original name is Uday Singh Deshmukh, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself at his house here yesterday, police said.

"Domestic discord has come to light during the initial investigation into Bhaiyuji Maharaj's suicide, but besides this, we are conducting a detailed probe from other angles also," Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Indore Range, Ajay Sharma told PTI today.

 

"We will not jump to any conclusion in a haste," he said.

Another official said the police has seized the CCTV footage, the revolver that Maharaj had allegedly used to shoot himself, his mobile phone and other gadgets from his house, located on the bypass road, where the incident took place.

Bhaiyuji Maharaj's first wife died after suffering a heart attack in 2015. He later married Dr Ayushi Sharma, a native of Shivpuri, in 2017. He has a daughter from his first wife.

Some people close to the saint at his ashram here claimed that his daughter from the first marriage and his second wife did not see eye-to-eye which resulted in unpleasant situations many a times.

The guru obviously remained "tense" because of this, they further claimed.

ADG Sharma said a notepad was found in Bhaiyuji Maharaj's room in which he had purportedly written, 'Somebody should be there to handle duties of family, I am leaving, too much stressed out, fed up'.

The spiritual guru's family members claimed that it was his own handwriting but the police will verify it by taking help of experts, the official said.

Maharaj was very popular in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh because of his spiritual and social works.

He was one of the five 'saints' to whom the Shivraj Singh government in Madhya Pradesh had granted Minister of State (MoS) rank in April. However, he had refused to accept it, saying "a post holds no importance for a saint".

The Congress has already demanded a CBI probe into the Maharaj's death.

His disciples, who gathered outside his 'Suryoday Ashram', were in a state of shock and unable to believe that he could take the extreme step.

A disciple from Jalgaon in Maharashtra, Sambhaji Deshmukh, said the guru was "not a coward and could never take a step like suicide."

"We suspect that he was killed under some conspiracy and demand a CBI probe into the incident," Deshmukh said.

The guru's mortal remains were brought to his ashram to enable his disciples to pay their last respects.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Shrikant Bhartiya, arrived here to pay obeisance to the departed guru on behalf of the CM.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale also came to pay his respects to Maharaj.

His last rites will be performed later today.