That notion was dispelled, however, when the CBI picked up four persons, three of them managers associated with Swaminarayan Temple Trust here, for interrogation on March 29. That was only the beginning and if the shockwaves have subsided, they have merely given way to talk of greed for money and power.

Those picked up by the CBI were the assistant kothari of Vadtal temple Shreejicharan Swami, kothari of Vidyanagar Hostel Madhavpratap Swami, bhagat Chimanbhai Dayabhai from Vadtal and kothari of Swaminarayan temple, Mumbai, Gyanprakash Swami. A CBI officer said they are ``zeroing in on the conspiracy''.

That the incident has shaken the community to the core was admitted to by sect head Acharya Shree Ajendraprasadji Maharaj, who said: ``It is a very grave and sad incident to have happened''. The Acharya, who is the eighth-generation descendant of the founder, Lord Swaminarayan, did not want to comment on the reasons behind the disappearance but said, ``the Lord will do the justice in the end and the CBI seems to be an impartial agency''.

A more temporal view is taken by Kapilji, chief priest of the Swaminarayan temple at Surat and also a nephew of Gadadharnandji, who blames ``vested interests'', but does not explain. ``My uncle was a truly religious person with high morals and principles'', he says. Another community leader, who does not want to be named, believes the disappearance was linked to the transfer of priests.

Bhaktiprasadji, the 65-year-old chief kothari (executive) of the internationally known Swaminarayan Temple, which is the birthplace of the founder, broke down when asked about the incident. Hasmukh R Patel and Surendra M Patel, current chairman and secretary of the trust, admitted that the image of the sect had been damaged. Chief Executive Bhaktikishoredasji refused to talk on the issue, but advised this correspondent, ``Write whatever you want. But also think of the lakhs of devotees and their faith.''

As Chairman of the Shree Vadtal Temple Managing Trustee Board, Gadadharnandji was responsible for the management of what is virtually a global empire comprising 100-odd temples and other institutions. He was the man who was responsible for the posting of priests and other functionaries who ran these institutions, each of which controls huge cash, land and other assets.

Predictably, the disappearance led to protests by devotees. A case lodged with the Chaklasi village police the next day stated that he might have been taken away in a car. A burnt car which police said belonged to the Swaminarayan sect was found at Bagodhra in Saurashtra after a week. In September last year, the Gujarat High Court, on a petition filed by a devotee Jatinbhai, entrusted the investigation to CBI. The leader has not yet been traced, no one knows whether he's alive or dead.

While CBI officers are unwilling to discuss the details of the investigation, others have little doubt that insiders were responsible for the disappearance of Gadadharnandji. Says Ramanbhai Parmar, a prominent follower based in Vadtal, ``The crime seems to have been committed by persons within''.

A N Patel, a prominent industrialist from Vadodara, too holds similar views, saying the incident ``exposes the influence of money and power on religious institutions''. Police officers point to the long history of rivalry between the `acharyaa' (from the Lord's family) and the `devas' (devotees), which often reached courts, both within India and abroad.