Jodhpur sadhvi’s death sparks protest, probe ordered
A 25-year-old sadhvi died after allegedly collapsing while being treated for fever at her ashram in Jodhpur. Devotees demanded a fair investigation as police ordered a post-mortem and examined an Instagram post that surfaced after her death
Jodhpur: A religious preacher died after she allegedly “collapsed” while being treated for a “fever” at her ashram, triggering the anger of devotees who demanded a fair investigation into her sudden and “suspicious” death.
A purported suicide note on her official Instagram handle, posted after her death on Wednesday evening, has raised questions about the sadhvi’s death.
ACP (West) Chhavi Sharma said the 25-year-old sadhvi was brought to a private hospital by her father and a young man in a car around 6 pm. After an examination, the doctor declared her dead, the officer said.
“We have arranged to shift her body to the government hospital, where the post-mortem will be conducted today,” the officer said, adding that further action would be taken after the post-mortem.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the sadhvi had a fever and a compounder was called to the ashram to administer an injection, after which she collapsed. Police said she had received in-house medication at her ashram.
A large number of devotees assembled at the ashram after news of her death spread. They raised slogans and demanded a fair investigation into her “sudden and suspicious” death.
In her last post on Instagram, she referred to an “agnipariksha” (trial by fire) she was denied and added that she hoped for “justice” after her death. This post appeared a few hours after her death on Wednesday evening.
The sadhvi had approached the police around six months ago, alleging that she was being blackmailed over a “doctored” video by some of her staff. They were allegedly “defaming her character” and demanding Rs 20 lakh for the video, which was later widely circulated online.
Police had then arrested one person identified as Jogendra alias Jogaram, who used to install the sound system for her sermons.