Police have "shocking" information on Sankaracharya: Jayalalithaa

      Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said that police has shocking and solid information on Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi's links with the murderers of Sankararaman. "The police has got vital information about the Sankaracharya's links with hirelings and associates engaged to murder the temple official after the interrogation of two persons arrested at Chennai on November 9 and articles seized from them," Jayalalithaa told the state assembly here.

      The seer had also links in drawing huge money from the mutt's bank account and handing it over to the hirelings. Those who committed the murder had spoken to the seer over telephone, she said. Denying the NDA charges of violation of laws in effecting the arrest of the seer, Jayalalithaa said all legal formalities were observed right from his arrest till he was lodged at the Central Prison at Vellore. "By the arrest my government has proved that everybody is equal before the law," she added.

Sankaracharya's bail hearing adjourned till tomorrow  (Go To Top)

      Chennai: The Madras High Court today adjourned the hearing of the bail plea of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati till tomorrow. The public prosecutor (PP) in the case claimed that copy of the affidavit was given to him only late last night, and he needed time to prepare for arguments. Earlier, the hearing was delayed by a few hours after the PP sought time to study an additional affidavit filed by the seer's counsel. The court also adjourned till November 18 another petition filed on behalf of the seer seeking certain special facilities for him, including hospitalisation, permission to perform pujas and self- cooking while in judicial custody.

Tight security tight for Sankaracharya's hearing (Go To Top)

      Chennai: Security was tightened on Wednesday around the high court complex in Chennai where a revered Hindu seer, arrested on charges of murder, is due to appear for a bail plea. The High Court will resume hearing on the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati's bail plea after it had adjourned the case on Saturday on a plea by his counsel Ram Jethmalani who had asked for more time to get details about his client's arrest. Jayendra Saraswati, venerated by millions of Hindus, was arrested by Tamil Nadu police last Thursday in Mehboobnagar, Andhra Pradesh on charges that he was the main accused in the murder of a temple manager. Sankaraman, who is said to have been a critic of the religious leader, was hacked to death in an ancient temple in Kanchipuram on September 3. The killing sparked off protests by Tamil Nadu's main opposition party.

       Meanwhile, a lower court has asked the police to produce the seer before it on November 18. The court also adjourned another petition filed on behalf of the seer seeking certain special facilities for him like hospitalisation, permission to perform prayers and self-cooking while in judicial custody. On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu police had moved a trial court seeking the seer's custody for questioning and searched a teachers' training institute connected with the Kanchi Mutt (religious seat).

VHP calls for country-wide protests (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has called for demonstrations across India to protest at the arrest of the priest, head of one of five Indian monasteries founded in the 8th century by the Hindu philosopher and religious reformer, Adi Sankaracharya. Protests by Hindu groups continued on Wednesday in several parts of the country, but there were no reports of flare up. Several Hindu organisations called for a day-long shutdown in Dehradun, seeking the early release of the Kanchi Shankarachrya. "If there is no decision then we will start an agitation, not only by the Hindu Jagran Manch and VHP but also people holding the same opinion like us. We will show the outcome of harassing a holy man, to the federal government and the Tamil Nadu state government," said Raju Bhandari, the Organisation Secretary of the Hindu Jagran Manch.

Vajpayee, other BJP leaders discuss Sankaracharya's arrest  (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Top BJP leaders today took stock of the situation arising out of the arrest of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi in a murder case and its impact on the people of the country. The meeting, which took place at the residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was attended by BJP president L K Advani, former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh, and BJP General Secretaries Arun Jaitley and Sanjay Joshi. The meeting heard a detailed background by former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi who had met Sankaracharya in the Vellore prison yesterday, BJP sources said. There was no official reaction after the meeting. However, Jaitley later confirmed about the meeting but said that the arrest was one of the many matters that were discussed at the meeting. "The BJP is certainly concerned about the matter... the timing of the arrest and its handling were the issues that figured at the meeting."