Usually, a case of arson of an ashram is received by public with shock and dismay. But when an ashram in Thiruvananthapuram was attacked on October 27 at 2.40 am and the cars (only the insured ones) were set on fire by “some miscreants”, it triggered a laughter riot on the cyberspace.
The ashram belongs to Sandeepananda Giri, a controversial swami whose antecedents do not inspire reverence or confidence among Hindu masses. He is a darling of the Communists, Islamists and anti-Hindu forces. Although he insists that his name in the poorvashram is Thulasi, people like to call him PK Shibu – god knows who named him. The name stuck to him so perfectly that people now believe it’s his name. However, the mere mention of Shibu drives the swami crazy and it is quite a spectacle to see him fume in TV studios.
According to the police case, the miscreants attacked and set on fire two cars and a scooter parked in the premises of the ashram – some people like BJP leader Sobha Surendran like to call it five-star resort. And the miscreants placed a wreath at the doorstep – a typical CPI(M)-type of operation. (In Kannur, if the CPI(M) wants to eliminate a rival, the killer squad will place a wreath in front of his house. Experience is that he will be killed very soon.)
But what triggered the suspicion in people about the whole episode are certain gaps in the swami’s story. Let us analyse the sequence of events: First, at 9 pm, the security guard of the house quits his job on a flimsy reason. Sometime in the midnight, the CCTV cameras on the front side of the house develop snag. A woman and her daughter who were putting up in the outhouse of the ashram woke up to a large blast sound. When she saw blaze, she alerted the swami who stays on the first floor of the ashram. She told mediamen that he did not come downstairs and told her: “Let the fire settle.” A nighbour after seeing the fire called up the Fire Service personnel who came in no time and doused the fire. The funniest part is that the miscreants were so considerate that they left the car, whose insurance had expired, untouched. Interestingly, Kairali TV, the channel run by CPI(M), was the first to report the incident at about 6 am. But what astonished many was that Deshabhimani, the CPI(M) mouthpiece, published a full report complete with a photograph of the burning car on the same night. By early morning, Chief Minister Vijayan visited the ashram with a posse of reporters and gave a statement hinting at the RSS involvement. In the last one year, many unpleasant and untoward incidents happened in the state. The Okhi cyclone wreaked havoc on the Kerala cost but he visited after many days. He had to be saved from violent mob. But his promptness in this incident had surprised many.
The swami also gave a statement – “Sabarimala Thantri (chief priest), Pandalam royal family and BJP president PS Sreedharan Pilli are responsible for this.” He went to the extent of saying the handwriting on the wreath belonged to the state BJP chief. Somebody who listened to his statement said he could have included PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah also in the list of suspects.
After the CM, the ministers and political leaders visited the ashram gave statements against the Sangh. A Janam TV reporter, who tried to obtain CCTV footages from a temple adjacent to the ashram, was manhandled by the police.
BJP leader K Surendran said people of the state have no doubt about the persons behind this. They all demanded a probe into the incident.
Firebrand BJP leader Sobha Surendran gave a dressing down to the swami in a live TV panel discussion. Addressing the swami ‘Mr Sandeep’ she said, “I won’t call it an ashram – it’s a five-star resort.” She said how the swami was having fun with wine and skimpily clad women on the Goa beaches (photos of which were viral on social media). She said she has the proof of his liaisons and will approach the police with women victims of sexual harassment. She also warned that “the CPI(M) might liquidate him, for they want a martyr to sabotage the Sabarimala agitation”.
Interestingly, three sets of protests took place on the day: The first was organised by Popular Front’s political wing SDPI, second by Yukthivadi Sangham (Atheists association) and the CPI(M). This speaks volumes of his following.
Discussion about this post