KOCHI:According to a Crime Branch report submitted two years ago before a court, the death of Swami Saswathikananda, former head of Sivagiri Mutt, was due to strong undercurrents in the Periyar near Aluva while he was taking bath.
The 15-page report in which SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan is listed as the 34th witness and submitted before the Fort Kochi Magistrate court by the probe team says that it was a case of natural death.
Swami was found dead in the Periyar at 9.30 am on July, 1, 2002. He had gone to take bath near Advaitashramam at Aluva.
According to the report submitted by then Crime Branch DSP K G Simon, on July 1, 2002, Swami came to Aluva Advaithashram at around 8.45 am along with Swami Sookshmananda and two of his aides Sabu and Subhash to participate in the meeting of the board of directors of the Sivagiri Mutt and other programmes.
He stepped into the river at around 9.30 am wearing an ‘uthareeyam’ after handing over his dhoti, kurta and ring to Sabu. After taking a dip in the river once or twice, he took bathing soap from Sabu.
When he stepped into the water again, somehow he got into the strong undercurrents, which lead to his death due to suffocation and this was undoubtedly proven, says the report which appeals to consider it as a “case of death due to drowning”.
The report also says that statements were recorded from Vellappally Natesan’s wife Preethi as 35th witness, son Tushar Vellappally as the 103rd, Priyan, son of Prakasan Edakkochi as the 104th and Sree Narayana Dharma Vedi general secretary Biju Ramesh as the last (114th) in the witness.
The report contains the conclusions based on the statements of 114 persons and post-mortem reports and medical analysis.