Body of person who attained ‘samadhi’ will be exhumed, says police

To unravel the mystery surrounding the death of a 69-year-old man, whose family claimed he had attained ‘samadhi’, the body will be exhumed for further examination, police on Monday said.

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The Neyyattinkara police on Monday received an order from the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) to exhume the body of Gopan Swami, who was buried under suspicious circumstances, for a post-mortem, an officer said.

The site, where his family claimed he attained ‘samadhi’, will be excavated in the presence of the RDO, the officer added.

Officials are expected to arrive at the location shortly to begin the proceedings, according to police sources.

The incident came to light when posters declaring, “Gopan Swami has attained samadhi,” were displayed near his residence.

The police have registered a missing person case and decided to exhume the body for further investigation following complaints from local residents alleging foul play in the death.

A request for a post-mortem examination, if the body is recovered, has also been submitted, a police officer said.

Gopan Swami’s son, Rajasenan, claims that his father walked to the burial site around 11.30 pm on Friday and entered samadhi.

He had told a television news channel that Gopan Swami had directed the family to keep his body away from public view and to bury him in the grave. However, neighbours told television channels that Gopan Swami was bedridden due to various ailments.

The special burial site was built by Gopan Swami, a priest who established a temple on his property at Kavuvilakam in Neyyattinkara.