Last rites of Jain monk Nandi Maharaj, who was murdered, held near ashram as per customs

CHIKKODI: The brutal murder of Jain monk Acharya Sri 108 Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj of Nandi Parvata Ashram at Hirekodi had shocked the entire state. The final rites were held today as per Jain customs after the post-mortem examination.

A close associate of the monk was involved in the murder of the monk, all for demanding loaned money to be returned. During intense investigation by the police, the accused admitted to the murder. Narayana Basappa Mali (35) and Hasan Dalayat (34), who had murdered the monk, chopped up his body and dumped the parts into a borewell, admitted to the crime.

The monk was murdered on July 5. During questioning, the accused told the police that they had planned to commit the murder after the assistant cook left the ashram after finishing his work. The accused, Narayan, who was close to the monk, killed him by electrocuting him and then strangulating him in the room of Parvata Ashram.

Later, he called his friend Dalayat Hussain and the two carried the body from Hirekodi to Khatakabavi on a motorcycle for 39 km. Then, they cut the body into pieces, the limbs were separated and wrapped in a same saree that the body was brought wrapped in, and dumped the body parts into a borewell in a farmland.

The police had registered a missing person’s complaint on July 7, after the monk was not found in the ashram  on July 5. Devotees and relatives searched for the monk on July 6. Someone informed the police that the monk had been abducted from the ashram following which they got a sketch done. Following this, the two people were detained and extensively interrogated.

Earlier, the accused had given a confusing statement about what they did with the monk and where they had disposed of the body to mislead the investigation. They had initially stated that they threw the body in a river, and then said they dumped it in a borewell. When the police subjected them to intense questioning, the accused came out with the truth. The monk had given Rs 6 lakh to the duo and when he started demanding they money back, they planned to kill him.

The accused Narayan had planned to bury the body on his own land, but then changed the plan, thinking that they would be caught by the police.

Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Patil said the police team launched a search operation at night. When they got the confirmation about where the body was dumped, they began searching for it at 6.30 am on Friday. After a 10-hour-long search operation, the chopped body parts were recovered from a deep borewell.

Devotees of the monk have demanded that the accused be severely punished. After the post-mortem procedure, the final ritual was held as per Jain customs. The body of the monk Nandi Maharaj was cremated near the ashram in Hirekodi on Sunday.