This story is from June 29, 2017

Sanyasi who opposed liquor shop near gaushala found dead

Swami Vishudanand, a 39-year-old MSc graduate who opposed the opening of a liquor shop near his gaushala, which he had built on the banks of the Ganga in Tehri after taking sanyas, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday
Sanyasi who opposed liquor shop near gaushala found dead
DEHRADUN: Swami Vishudanand, a 39-year-old MSc graduate who opposed the opening of a liquor shop near his gaushala, which he had built on the banks of the Ganga in Tehri after taking sanyas, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday.
Those living in the vicinity of Vishudanand's ashram said the administration had snapped water and electricity connections to his gaushala in Srinagar’s Koteshwar village.

After the news of his death spread, a big crowd of ascetics from various sects in Rishikesh and people from nearby villages thronged to pay their last respects.
Vishudanand's father, a surgeon, and his mother too came from Madhya Pradesh for his last rites.
Vishudanand had last month told a meeting how the administration was hell bent on opening the liquor shop near the holy Ganga and how officials were thrashing and abusing protesters.
Police, on their part, said Vishudanand died of snake bite on Tuesday midnight. MA Ganapathy, the DGP, said police got a post-mortem on the seer's body conducted to ascertain the cause of his death.
Tehri superintendent of police Vimla Gunjiyal, too, maintained the same line. “Swami died of snake bite on his hand in his cave on. His disciple had tied a band on the bitten portion to stop the poison from spreading into his body, but Swami opened the band in the morning after which his condition started deteriorating. He was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors declared him dead.”

Prem Vallabh Dhyani, a caretaker at the gaushala, however, suspected the explanation offered by police. “The body did not turn blue, which negates the poison theory,” he said.
Gauri Maulekhi, an animal activist who knew Vishudanand closely, said, “Swami ji was persecuted by the administration, which disconnected water and electricity connections of his gaushala, but he refused to give up. Now, efforts are being made to brush under the carpet the circumstances under which he was found dead.”
Meanwhile, expressing the administration’s helplessness in shifting the liquor shop, sub-divisional magistrate Maya Dutt Joshi said, “The liquor shop earns Rs 90 lakh per month, and thus cannot be relocated. However, a land for relocating the gaushala has been identified in Srinagar.”
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA