Narendra Giri

Some Lesser Known Facts About Narendra Giri

• Narendra Giri was an Indian religious leader who headed one of the largest religious bodies of the Hindu monastic order in the country – Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP). He was also the secretary of Panchayati Akhara Shri Niranjani and Mahant of Baghambari Gaddi and Bade Hanuman temple of Prayagraj. Giri was a highly influential seer with strong connections with politicians.

• Narendra Giri hailed from the trans-Ganga area of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. ^[13]Hindustan Times

• Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad is the apex decision-making body of the 13 recognised Akharas of Hindu seers in India, and Mahant Narendra Giri was elected the president of ABAP, which is considered one of the most powerful Akharas, on 14 March 2015, after securing support from eight of the 13 akharas. He succeeded Mahant Gyan Das as the president of ABAP: Mahant Gyan Das was considered one of his opponents. Narendra Giri served as ABAP’s president for four years until Giri was re-elected to the position in October 2019 at a meeting of the Akhara Parishad held in Haridwar. ^[14]Hindustan Times ^[15]Hindustan Times

• In 2020, after the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, Giri passed a resolution to initiate a campaign for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement to “free the Hindu temples” in Varanasi and Mathura. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Akhara Parishad that was chaired by him. Later, Giri also demanded the inclusion of the Akhara Parishad in the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust. ^[16]The Indian Express

• Mahant tested positive for Covid-19 in April 2021, just before the royal bath of the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar after which he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh. ^[17]The Indian Express ^[18]Hayat News

  

• On 8 July 2021, Mahant Narendra Giri and Akhara Parishad General Secretary Mahant Hari Giri narrowly escaped a car accident on the Lucknow-Sultanpur highway when they were returning after a meeting with CM Yogi Adityanath. ^[19]Aaj Tak

  

• Mahant Narendra Giri – one of the most revered among the Indian saints and seers, died, allegedly by suicide, on 20 September 2021. The initial probe suggested that Giri’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan by a rope in his room at Baghambari Gaddi Math in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The mortal remains of the seer were carried in a procession in Sangam city before taking the body to the Hanuman temple. Reports stated that samadhi was given to Narendra Giri in the Shrimath Baghambari Gaddi, in a sitting posture which implied he is in meditation. ^[20]India Today

  

• The police recovered a purported suicide note from the room which accused Mahant’s closest disciple, Anand Giri, and two others of his suicide – a priest of the Bhagambari mutt, Adhya Tiwari, and his son, Sandeep. All three were arrested. ^[21]Hindustan Times Reportedly, Mahant had also recorded a 1-minute video before his death in which he blamed Anand Giri and Aadya Tiwari. Anand Giri, however, alleged that Mahant was murdered, and his name in the note was a part of a conspiracy. Police revealed that the suicide note, apparently written by Narendra Giri, also mentioned the names of many of his disciples, Giri wrote: ^[22]India Today
  

  I lived with dignity, will not be able to live with insult, this is why I am taking my own life.”

  Upon further investigation, the 18-member SIT formed by the UP police to probe the death of the top seer revealed that in the handwritten suicide note, Mahant said that he was forced to take his own life as he was being “blackmailed” by Anand Giri over a “morphed photo with a girl.” ^[23]The Times of India It said,

  I came to know that Anand Giri was going to share with the the public a morphed photo that showed me with a girl. Anand asked me that once these allegations spread, how many people will you prove your innocence to? I have lived a life of dignity… and I can’t live with the humiliation that I will be subjected to…”

• Two days after the investigation of the case, police also revealed that before committing suicide on 20 September 2021, Mahant had already planned to commit the same on 13 September 2021, according to the suicide note. The investigation team further revealed that they had seized the tablets of celphos poison, which was apparently ordered by Giri; however, it was unclear if Mahant had ordered the poison for committing suicide or for any other reason. ^[24]India Today Reportedly, Narendra Giri also mentioned Balbeer Giri as his successor for the Mahant of Baghambari Gaddi in the suicide note. ^[25]News18

• Prominent Indian politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, and several others tweeted to condole the death of Mahant Narendra Giri. Soon after, the suspicious circumstances of Giri’s death led to an uproar in the country with people and politicians demanding a CBI probe in the matter, following which a plea for a CBI probe was sent to the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court. ^[26]India Today

• On 22 September 2021, as the investigation proceeded in Giri’s death case, audiotapes of an alleged conversation between Mahant Narendra Giri with Swami Om Bharti, Mahant of the Brahmachari Kuti, were leaked and carried by some media publications. In the audiotapes, Giri was heard saying that he was apparently “tired” of his disciple Anand Giri’s politics. ^[27]India Today

• A day later, Niranjani Peethadheeshwar Acharya Mahamandleshwar, Kailashanand Giri announced that the akhara would not appoint Balbeer Giri as the successor of Mahant of Baghambari Gaddi Mutt and Bade Hanuman Mandir in Prayagraj. He said that the Mahant died in mystery and the purported suicide note was fake, and he would wait for the investigation to over. ^[28]News18 On the same day, the central government issued a notification to allow CBI to probe into the suicide case. ^[29]The Times of India On 5 October; however, Kailashanand Giri formally named Balbeer Giri as the successor of Narendra Giri and official head of Baghambari Gaddi Mutt. ^[30]The Times of India

• According to a charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on November 20, Narendra Giri was living in a grave mental trauma after being threatened by the three accused – Anand Giri, Adhya Prasad Tiwari, and Sandeep Tiwari, which compelled him to commit suicide. Reportedly, the charge sheet revealed that the Mahant mentioned to some of his disciples he feared Anand Giri would release edited videos showing Narendra Giri with some woman. Allegedly, a few days before the suicide, Giri also indirectly asked a couple of his disciples about the time it takes someone to die after consuming Celphos. The charge sheet also claimed that a day before committing suicide, the Mahant had asked his disciple, Sarvesh Dwivedi, to bring a nylon rope from the market. ^[31]Hindustan Times