The Uttar Pradesh government has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in connection with the death of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Narendra Giri, the state's home department said on Wednesday.
The seer, who was the president of the largest organisation of sadhus in India, was found hanging by his disciples at the Baghambari Mutt in Allahabad on Monday.
'On the instructions of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a probe by the CBI has been recommended in the incident pertaining to the sad death of chairman of Akhara Parishad Mahant Narendra Giri,' the department said in a tweet in Hindi.
The Uttar Pradesh Police had on Tuesday constituted an 18-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of the seer and detained a disciple of his in Haridwar.
A panel of five doctors on Wednesday conducted a post-mortem examination.
After the autopsy, the body was taken to the Baghambri Gaddi Mutt.
The seer was buried in a 'bhoo samadhi' under a lemon tree around 3 pm.
There was heavy deployment of security personnel at the site where the autopsy was conducted.
Former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand had on Tuesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the death.
Meanwhile, the UP Police on Wednesday arrested a third person in connection with the seer's death, officials said.
Inspector Mahesh Singh, in-charge of the George Town police station, confirmed the arrest of Sandeep Tiwari, but he declined to comment on the time and place of the arrest.
Earlier on Wednesday, the seer's two disciples, Anand Giri and Aadhya Prasad Tiwari, were produced in a local court, which sent them to a 14-day judicial custody.
Anand Giri was charged with abetting the seer's suicide.
A purported suicide note was found, in which the seer had written that he was mentally disturbed and upset with one of his disciples, the police had said.
A prominent seer of Niranjani Akhara, Acharya Mahamandleshwar Kailashanand, on Wednesday claimed that the purported suicide note does not have Narendra Giri's handwriting.
'I do not consider this suicide note authentic as it does not have Giri's handwriting. I knew him for the last 20 years. He did not use to write,' said Kailashanand, considered very close to Giri.
