During the funeral procession that lasted more than an hour and half, locals remembered the 72-year-old monk not only as a religious man but also as somebody committed to social causes. Among the seniormost monks in Mumbai, he had given up family life more than 40 years ago and was anointed a ‘Mahathero’ a few years back, having completed over three decades as a monk.

Everybody in Gautam Nagar remembers the several mahila mandals and self-help groups he started in the area. He would regularly organise community functions in the Buddha Vihar, where people could come together to read religious scriptures. Aspiring to refurbish the temple, he’d also helped stage popular Marathi play Gadhvacha Lagna as a fundraising event, something that made him hugely popular too.

Trouble started a couple of years ago when a slum rehabilitation scheme was first discussed. The Mahathero was found dead in the very Buddha Vihar he had fought to protect, say residents. Violence followed allegations that the monk had been killed by a construction firm interested in a slum rehabilitation scheme where the Buddha Vihar stands. A close associate, Bhante Ayupal, claimed that the monk had hinted that he’d been receiving threats.

Along with a developer firm, three local residents backing the proposed cooperative housing society are also named in the First Information Report lodged at Deonar police station. The accused have all left the locality.