Madhya Pradesh Police on Sunday, 20 January, said spiritual leader Bhaiyyu Maharaj, who allegedly shot himself in 2018, was being blackmailed by his personal secretary to marry her.
Police have arrested three people on the charges of abetting to suicide and for “secretly” giving Maharaj "high doses of medicines" to "control" him, a senior police official said on Saturday, 19 January, according to PTI.
On Friday, 18 January, his personal secretary, Palak Puranik (25), and two other aides, identified as Vinayak Dudhade (42) and Sharad Deshmukh (34), were arrested for allegedly abetting Maharaj’s suicide.
The model-turned-godman, whose real name was Uday Singh Deshmukh, had allegedly shot himself dead on 12 June last year at his residence in Indore.
Deputy Inspector General of Police HC Mishra, on Saturday, said Puranik was blackmailing Maharaj and pressuring him to marry her.
“She and her aides were giving high doses of medicines to Bhaiyyu Maharaj, which was affecting his mental health.”HC Mishra, Deputy Inspector General of Police
He said these medicines were administered to the spiritual leader so that the accused “could control him”.
"We have records of a very objectionable social media chat between Maharaj and the woman, as well as other digital evidences," he said.
Puranik had threatened Bhaiyyu Maharaj that if they didn’t get married on 16 June last year, she would lodge a police complaint and defame him, Mishra said.
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