Ashram murders for revenge, power

Ashramite Kalipada Das butchered the ashram head, Guruma Sangeeta Ray and two disciples, who were seriously injured, before being killed himself.

While Duli Dutta and Ray were declared dead on arrival, the other disciple, Ananda Kamal Brahmachari, is still hospitalised with multiple stitches.

The postmortem report of Das has ruled out suicide. According to it, he died after being hit on the head with a heavy object. Several lacerations were found on his body. The report also mentions that Das had used a bhojali and another sharp weapon, with which he struck Ray at least 18 times.

A pall of gloom descended on the premises of the ashram in Kankurgachi as the bodies of Ray and Duli Dutta arrived. Ashram joint-secretary Surpiyo Kar said Ray would be conferred "Samadhi" after 10 days. "We have ordered a truckload of ice to preserve the body, and have sought police protection as well," he said.

Throwing light on Das' behaviour, Kar said he was an old member and had gained "diksha" at the hands of Swami Swarupananda himself. "After Ray took over, Das had confronted her on some occasions. He was thought to be mentally unstable and expelled from this ashram three to four years ago. He used to travel to ashrams in other states. He was always power-hungry."

Ashram sources said as per rules, only the head of the sect gets to wear saffron robes while the rest wear white. Das, apparently, always wanted to wear saffron — in fact, he was wearing saffron robes when he entered the ashram premises on Wednesday.

Kar said Ray had referred him to psychiatrist Sushanta Hazra for treatment. Confirming this, Hazra said he had treated Das for psychosis and personality disorder.

"Das had a history of marijuana and alcohol abuse. He discontinued the medicines I prescribed him. I advised them to keep him separate... his behaviour indicated he could be homicidal."

Ashram sources said there could be a property angle to the murders too, as one of the confrontations between Ray and Das was regarding the ashram's property spread over several states and estimated to be worth Rs 550 crore. They added that Das was also involved in a murder case in Jammu and Kashmir.