Medical examination rules out foul play in Chittoor monk’s death

Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The medical examination of a Hindu monk who died under suspicious circumstances in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district has ruled out the possibility of any foul play.

"In the post-mortem report, the doctors said that it was a 100 per cent natural death and there were no injuries on the body, not even one," a police officer told IANS on Thursday.

According to the official, at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, Poornachandra Reddy, also known as Sadhguru Sachidananda (75), a monk at the Ramateertha Ashram near Irala, collapsed to death while having his dinner.

Lakshmamma (65), who also lived with Sachidananda at the centre, ran into the room where the monk collapsed and complained that she allegedly saw the shadow of some unidentified person passing by.

"She also claimed that the same person came again and pulled her saree but did not do anything to her, but fell on the monk and murdered him, prompting her to flee in fear," he said.

However, as there were no injuries, officials said that Lakshmamma may be alluding to somebody else's alleged involvement, scared of getting entangled in the case herself.

"Laskhmamma is sticking to her version, so we are also probing the murder angle," he said.

The police are checking on some known criminals with similar modus operandi who target secluded places, including one person from Damanapally mandal in the district.

Incidentally, the Damanapally suspect had committed similar crimes in 2012 and was recently released from the prison.

On Thursday, Sachidananda was cremated at the ashram.

Lakshmamma and Sachidananda were living in the ashram for the past 20 years. The ashram has 10 rooms where devotees stay and cook their own food whenever they visit. However, on Tuesday, only Sachidananda and Lakshmamma were present there.

The police are planning to question Laksmamma again on Friday.

Source: IANS