[The two cases have more than one similarity and even have shades of the Rampal case blow-up where the Haryana police had to fight street battles with devotees to get the preacher to follow the law. Just like the SAD-BJP government in Punjab today, Jyoti Basu's communist government in West Bengal was reluctant to use force to get the body out as followers of the Sanatan Dal were spread across the state and constituted a powerful vote bank.]
By I. P. Singh
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| Cast in time: West Bengal's Balak Brahmchari. |
In 1993, followers of Balak Brahmchari in West Bengal made similar claims of
"Nirvikalp Samadhi" and kept his body in ice for 55 days till it was
taken out by an IPS officer of Punjab origin. In fact, if there was a Guinness
record for samadhis, Ashutosh would have won it hands down given that he has
been iced in by his followers in his Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan near
Jalandhar in Punjab since January 29 this year.
The two cases have more than one similarity and even have shades of the Rampal
case blow-up where the Haryana police had to fight street battles with devotees
to get the preacher to follow the law. Just like the SAD-BJP government in
Punjab today, Jyoti Basu's communist government in West Bengal was reluctant to
use force to get the body out as followers of the Sanatan Dal were spread
across the state and constituted a powerful vote bank.
Punjab has a stiffer situation as the ruling alliance would not like to upset
Ashutosh's followers just before civic elections that are expected across the
state soon. Brahmchari's death was also confirmed by doctors as has happened in
Ashutosh's case. When police recovered Brahmchari's body, it was badly
decomposed and had maggots. In the Punjab guru's case, the Punjab and Haryana
High Court had ordered a high-powered committee on December 1 to cremate his
body in 15 days. Ironically, it was a police officer with roots in Jalandhar
who had ended the drama in Brahmchari's case. IPS officer Rachhpal Singh, who
was then SP of 24 Paragnas, was seriously injured as the followers attacked him
with tridents. He remained in hospital for three months after the operation.
Singh is now a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government.
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(Ashutosh Maharaj)
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"Doctors of a medical
college had certified Brahmchari's death but his followers brought the body to
the Santan Dal headquarter and kept it in a room where half a dozen air
conditioners were fitted and the room was filled with ice," Singh said
over the phone from Kolkata. "They had claimed that Brahmchari was in
Nirvikalp Samadhi and would come to life soon. In the meantime, I started
getting intelligence inputs that they were preparing his younger brother with a
similar appearance by growing a beard, hair and when he would be ready as an
almost lookalike, they would declare that Brahmchari had come back."
His followers also started giving 'Charnamrit' from the water flowing from
melting ice to the followers. "We were sure that it would lead to serious
health problems," Singh, who retired as ADGP in 2004 and later joined
Mamata's TMC, added.
Finally, after facing criticism from several quarters, the government sent a
team of doctors and confirmed that the guru was actually dead. On the night of
June 29, 1993, the government decided to remove the body and Singh was to lead
the operation.
"The gate was closed with thousands of angry followers inside. They had
also made preparations for mass suicide to defame the police. We cut the gate
and when I entered, they attacked me with tridents. Except for around 10
policemen, the rest fled. I started marching ahead and we finally managed to
overpower them with the threat of firing at them. But we did not fire a single
bullet as there were clear instructions not to."
Around 200 policemen finally entered the headquarters. "Meanwhile, a
paramedic stitched my profusely bleeding wounds without anaesthesia as the
operation could not have been left midway. They had thrown chili powder at us.
We even had to seal a petrol pump inside the headquarters as they planned to
use the fuel for self immolations."
It took the cops five hours to reach the room where Brahmchari's body was kept.
The officials came out with the remains collected, but the police brass of
neighbouring districts did not want his funeral in their district. Finally, a
minister asked the cops to come to his village and bury the preacher.
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