Don’t derail probe by casting aspersions on Shiroor seer, says Kemar swami

All seers should press for thorough probe: Kemar swami

Ishavittaladas Swami of Kemar Mutt (right) and Rajashekharananda Swami of Vajradehi Mutt at the District Police Office in Udupi on Saturday.

Ishavittaladas Swami of Kemar Mutt said on Saturday that Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt should lead all other seers in seeking a thorough and impartial probe into the death of Lakshmivara Tirtha Swami of Shiroor Mutt instead of casting aspersions on the character of the late seer.

After a meeting with the Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi, the Kemar seer told reporters that as the Shiroor seer had passed away, it was wrong on part of anyone to cast aspersions on his character. “We want due importance to be given to the case. We do not want the case to be derailed by aspersions on someone’s character,” he said.

“I request the Pejawar seer to not cast aspersions on the character of Shiroor seer. Instead, he should put all his might in seeking a thorough probe into the death case. In fact, all seers should do so under the leadership of Pejawar seer,” he said.

“Since the Shiroor seer has passed away, he cannot give any clarifications to the charges made.”

The Kemar seer said he and Rajashekharananda Swami of Vajradehi Mutt had been told by legal experts that the section under which the case had been booked was weak. Hence, they had come to ask the Superintendent of Police if they should file a fresh complaint.

The Kemar seer said the Shiroor seer was expecting ₹10 crore to ₹12 crore from a Mumbai-based businessman for payment of a bank loan with regard to a mall under construction here. This issue had been sorted out and the Shiroor seer was looking forward to getting this amount, he said.

None taken into custody so far: SP

While rumour mills continued to churn on the suspicious death of Shiroor Mutt seer Lakshmivara Tirtha — with various audio tapes surfacing and theories being floated — Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi on Saturday said nobody had been taken into custody and questioned in the case so far.

The press statement of the Kasturba Hospital on Shiroor seer’s death had stated that there was “suspicion of poisoning” and the toxicological samples had been sent for testing.

Mr. Nimbargi told reporters at the District Police Office here that it would take some time for the post-mortem report to be available, while it would take about six weeks for the FSL report to be available. “We are investigating the case from all the angles, including the financial angle,” he said.

The police have secured the ‘moola mutt’ at Shiroor village. Entry of people to the ‘moola mutt’ was restricted because the FSL and fingerprint experts would have to visit the place many times, Mr. Nimbargi said. He said the police had confiscated the CCTV cameras at the ‘moola mutt’ for investigation.