Godman Chandraswami dead

New Delhi: Controversial godman Chandraswami, who wielded enormous power during the regime of ex-PM the late PV Narasimha Rao and was seen as one of his trusted aides and advisers, died here on Tuesday following a stroke. He was 66. Chandraswami’s name had cropped up in the assassination of former-PM the late Rajiv Gandhi. Named Nemi Chand, Chandraswami belonged to Behror in Rajasthan but later moved to Hyderabad. Chandraswami, who started dabbling in horoscopes when he was young, soon shot to fame as an astrologer. After Rao became the PM in 1991, Chandraswami is said to have built an ashram in Delhi’s Qutub Institutional Area. PTI