Udupi: In what could be a pointer to the murky state of affairs which prevailed in the Shiroor Matha before the death of pontiff Sri Lakshmivara Teertha Swamiji, bottles of costly liquor including those of foreign brands, condoms, sanitary napkins and inner wear were found in the personal room of the late seer during the investigation, according to unconfirmed reports.
Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Arun Chakravarthi is supervising the investigation into the mysterious death of the pontiff and visited the matha on Tuesday. Reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the post-mortem report are still awaited. "Five teams have been formed. The investigation is moving in the right direction. No arrests have been made so far but we are conducting inquiries," Mr Chakravarthi said.
Meanwhile, sources said a woman who was closely associated with the Shiroor seer who was found travelling near Belthangady was asked to return to Udupi on Monday. It is said that the woman, who was earlier questioned by the police, had gone out of Udupi without intimating the police. The police who had kept an eye on her, found that she had moved to Dakshina Kannada district and informed the DK police who stopped her vehicle and sent her back to Udupi.
The woman has not been taken into custody or arrested but since she was closely associated with the seer, her movements are being monitored. There are also reports that the police have questioned a mother and son who were close to the seer. Though rumours of poisoning had done the rounds soon after the seer's death, sources close to him confided that his health was not too good primarily because of the consumption of alcohol.
They also said that in recent days, his health had deteriorated with his body swelling up at various places. According to the sources, the seer had visited the hospital frequently. On the day he was admitted, he had walked into the hospital but his hemoglobin content had dipped below six and he was suffering from severe diarrhea and weakness. The sources claimed that he had symptoms of liver and kidney problems and only the post-mortem report would be able to confirm this.
