Madras (AsiaNews/Agencies) The arrest of Jayendra Saraswathi, one of India's top Hindu religious leaders, on charges of first-degree murder has led to threats of a nation-wide protest by the religious right. Nicknamed the Hindu 'Pope', the 71-year-old Saraswathi is accused of ordering the murder of Thiru Sankararaman, a once-close aide who fell out with him last year.
According to C. Premkumar, police chief in Kanchipuram (70 km south of Madras), "several documents and details of bank transactions have been recovered which link the crime to Saraswathi".
The temple official was hacked to death in his office at Kanchipuram. The police chief said 14 people were arrested in connection with the murder, including two whose questioning led the authorities to believe that Saraswathi "played an important role in the murder".
Known also as the 'Seer of Kanchi', Saraswathi heads the 2500-year-old Kanchipuram temple and is one of the most respected leaders in southern India.
His arrest has provoked the reactions of Hindu nationalists. L. Ganeshan, secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which till recently led the Union government, said he was angry that the state government resorted to a midnight arrest and humiliated the pontiff. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Hindu World Council or VHP) demanded "Mr Saraswathi's unconditional release and threatened nationwide protests".
"With the arrest of the great pontiff the authorities have declared open war on the Hindu religion," VHP's general secretary Praveen Togadia said. "Every citizen, children included, will respond accordingly".
The arrest 30 years ago of another Hindu leader led to a wave of protests that included some people committing suicide.