KARUR: Days after landing in the limelight over alleged preparations for her Jeeva Samadhi, 95-year-old Siddhar Paati breathed her last at the government hospital here in the early hours of Monday. A large posse of police was deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident arising out of existing tensions between her followers over her body and funeral rites.
The nonagenarian was being taken care of by Dr Natarajan, a resident of Noyyal, for the past six years. The doctor had housed the 95-year-old at a garden in his house. According to Dr Natarajan, he had rescued her from the streets of Mohanur in Namakkal district, where she was loitering with no one to take care of her.
Recently, Shanmuga Sundaram, a resident of Bengaluru, had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that a section of people, claiming to be her followers, were trying to bury her alive so as to facilitate her Jeeva Samadhi.
Acting on the complaint, District Social Welfare Department officials rescued her from Dr Natarajan’s garden and admitted her to the Government Karur Hospital on September 13.
Siddhar Paati, as the nonagenarian came to be known, became popular with the people, who began believing that she had supernatural powers. Scores of people used to throng her abode seeking blessings and advice. At one time, she had followers across the State, while some used to visit her from neighbouring States as well.
When her condition deteriorated, people wanted her to take samadhi at a public place, as opposed to the doctor’s garden, leading to a rift among the followers’ ranks. Emotions ran high, with followers refusing cremation of her body and insisting on live burial.
Matters came to a head between the rival camps and the Karur RDO Balasubramanian had to hold talks with the rival groups. The issue flared up again when Dr Natarajan’s followers staged a road-roko, claiming ownership of Patti. Meanwhile, hospital officials have issued a notice directing any blood descendant or relative of the paati to visit the hospital and claim the body within 48 hours. If no one comes with relevant proof, further decision would be taken after the deadline, said RDO Balasubramanian.