This story was first published in THE WEEK issue dated January 23, 2005
On the auspicious amavasya day of the New Year, January 10, two jail doors virtually opened within the space of a few hours. While the Supreme Court granted bail to the senior Sankaracharya in the Sankararaman murder case of September 2004, ending two months of captivity, the Chennai Central Jail opened its doors to let the junior Sankaracharya in, in the same case. A day later, the senior Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, walked out of the Vellore jail to a rapturous reception, devotees jostling to pay respect to the beaming seer. Incidentally, the Sankaracharya had been arrested from Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh on amavasya— November 11. In Tamil culture, amavasya (new moon) is considered auspicious and the 15 days up to poornima (full moon) are expected to bring good tidings.
It did, at least for a few fleeting hours as far as the devotees were concerned. They had thronged the mutt headquarters in Kanchipuram upon hearing the good news from the Supreme Court in Delhi and were distributing sweets when around 70 policemen arrived at 6 p.m. Leading the posse was the Kanchipuram superintendent of police, K. Prem Kumar. Inside the mutt, in the large prayer hall adorned with pictures of previous Sankaracharyas, junior pontiff Vijayendra Saraswathi was performing the mandatory Sri Tripura Sundari Samedha Chandramoulee-swarar puja, which has to be done three times a day by either of the pontiffs. The police, hardly bothered about niceties, marched in and informed Vijayendra about his arrest. As they came out with him the devotees, who had overcome the shock, protested to no avail.
Vijayendra, 36, was charged with murder, conspiracy and acting with common intention (sections 302,120-B and 34 of the IPC) and was produced before the Kanchipuram chief judicial magistrate two hours later. "I have done no wrong," he told the magistrate. "The case is fabricated." The magistrate remanded him to 15 days judicial custody and the journey to the Chennai Central Jail began. He had carried badam, pista and badam milk with him, but the police refused to let them inside the jail.
Vijayendra is the fifth person from the mutt to be arrested in connection with the murder of A. Sankararaman, a former employee of the mutt and manager of the Sri VaradarajaPerumal Temple in Kanchipuram. Sankararaman, Jayendra's strident critic, had been sending stinkers to the seer for close to three years alleging financial irregularities at the mutt. Just before his murder he had threatened to expose the Sankaracharya. The police allege that the Sankaracharya had asked some of his influential businessmen-friends to settle the issue once and for all. They also allege that a sum of Rs 50 lakh was paid to Sankararaman's killers.
When Jayendra was arrested late-night on November 11, the police had bandied about 'clinching evidence' against the seer, including Sankararaman's last letter to him (which they recovered from the killers), details of the mutt's bank transactions and transcript of telephone conversations between him and the killers. A spate of arrests followed, which silenced the murmur of dissent in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in the country. Sangh parivar elements failed to make an issue out of it and Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was roundly praised for her bold step. Those who complained that she was exacting revenge on the seer for criticising her after the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, in which her AIADMK drew a blank, were deemed frivolous.
The mutt's image, as well as the Sankaracharya's, was dragged through dirt. Jayendra's connections with women devotees made headlines and his rift with the junior pontiff was grist for rumour mills. Past cases were dug up, including assaults of former mutt functionaries. It seemed the Sankaracharya was nothing short of a villain and the jail his rightful place.
The police interrogated and arrested Vijayendra's brother Raghu, whose connections with certain dubious elements had already raised eyebrows, mutt manager Sundaresa Iyer and accountant Vishwanathan who had allegedly tampered with the mutt accounts. With the arrests of Appu and Ravi Subramaniam—two key accused who had allegedly arranged the killers—the police claimed the case was watertight.
But the Supreme Court did not think so. While granting bail the apex court said there was no worthwhile evidence apart from 'alleged confessions' but stipulated that the Sankaracharya should not visit the mutt until the chargesheet was filed.
Kanchi Mutt's relief was as shortlived as the Tamil Nadu Police's disappointment. "The police arrested the junior seer on the same charges which the apex court found unsubstantiated," said a lawyer close to the mutt. "It explains the contradiction and the government's attitude."
The police still claim they have a case and a good one at that. "Vijayendra's arrest was based on Ravi Subramaniam's confessional statement," said a police officer. "He has confessed to the involvement of both Jayendra and Vijayendra in the murder. Do you think we would have arrested Vijayendra without proper evidence?" Interestingly, one of his colleagues had the same poser after they arrested Jayendra.
Not surprisingly, devotees and neutral observers are not convinced about the timing of the second arrest. "They could have arrested Vijayendra the day they arrested Jayendra," said Jeeva, a regular at the mutt. "If the arrest was based on Ravi's statement, why did they wait till January 10?" V. Sundaram, a retired IAS officer, fumed: "How could the police enter the mutt with their shoes on?"
The police are unmoved and are sparing no efforts. Vijayendra, accused no. 25 now, could be made accused no. 4 after Jayendra, Appu and Ravi. When Vijayendra's arrest seemed to evoke sympathy from the public, 10-minute visual excerpts of Jayendra's custodial confession were delivered to the offices of two television channels by unidentified people. The telecast version contained visuals of Jayendra complaining against Vijayendra (the enmity between the seers runs deep, say sources) and admitting that he agonised over the letters written by Sankararaman.
"The CD was released to turn the tide against the mutt, which was gaining sympathy after Vijayendra's arrest," said a Tamil journalist. "People who might not have believed that Jayendra had actually confessed would believe now." The mutt has constituted a legal panel to look into the issue while the government has petitioned the apex court that the seer should be kept off south India. The National Human Rights Commission has issued suo motu notice to the state chief secretary on the 'selective leak'.
The way things are going, the case is likely to fizzle out. Neither Sankararaman's letters nor the confessions would help. "But the damage is already done," said a police officer. One could not agree more. Jayendra's arrest opened a Pandora's box and stories of sleaze, money and intrigue flew around. Vijayendra, too, was not spared. His name was linked to a television actress and she was also called in for questioning. Decade-old mysterious deaths in institutions owned by the mutt returned to haunt Jayendra. Most of them vanished into thin air after creating the intended havoc.
Vijayendra's arrest, though expected since he was twice summoned for interrogation by the Special Investigation Team constituted to probe the Sankararaman murder case, amesh and the freezing of 183 bank accounts held by the mutt and allied trusts have pushed the mutt into a deeper crisis. The
Chandramouleeswarar puja, which was not stopped even when Paramacharya Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi died, will continue at the Sankara Mutt Brindhavan in Kalavai, 30 km from Kanchipuram, where Jayendra has set up base.
Ironically, the police ensured that the puja will not be disrupted by arresting Vijayendra only after Jayendra got bail! The puja was interrupted only on January 10, a day of mixed fortunes. "Never in the history of the mutt has a day gone without the performance of the daily Chandramouleeshwarar puja," said a devotee. "It pained us to see the puja disrupted on January 10." The puja has been considered a sacred tradition from the days of Adi Sankara, who is said to have brought the Yoga Linga from Kailash to Kanchi. When the Sankaracharyas travel out of the mutt, they take it with them.
Jayendra was performing the puja when he was arrested. His troubles are far from over. He was asked to appear for interrogation before the SIT on January 13 but the order was later withdrawn. People close to him felt he would be hounded by the police in an assault case concerning former mutt employee S. Radhakrishnan, in which he has sought anticipatory bail.
With none of the Sankaracharyas in the mutt, its future looks bleak. "There has been a precedence," said Vinayagar Murali, coordinator of Hindu organisations in Tamil Nadu. "One of the Sankaracharyas was arrested at the turn of the last century for not paying the mutt's debts. He was released and continued to be its head. So arrests cannot really destroy the mutt." But the fact remains that the once-powerful Kanchi Mutt may not have the same eminence in the days to come.
So where does all these leave Jayalalithaa, who was either playing a tough administrator or trying to revive her flagging political fortunes? She has certainly made no friends among the Brahmin
community, though she herself is one. Being sidelined is nothing new to the community in the land of the Dravidian movement. And, it is not a major force that can swing the outcome of the Assembly elections due next year. On that count she will not be bothered much.
After Jayendra's arrest she had gained some ground, which she had lost by playing the Hindutva card before the Lok Sabha elections. Rescinding the tough administrative decisions she made before the hustings also helped. The opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam made it all the more easy for her by first supporting the arrest and then criticising it.
But the timing of Vijayendra's arrest has done serious damage to her credibility. Not many buy the argument that the law is taking its own course. Critics carp it is vendetta and political opportunism. Jayendra had evinced keen interest in politics, be it bringing Jayalalithaa closer to the BJP or being the mediator in the Ayodhya dispute. He had reportedly attempted to create a rival to match Jayalalithaa and encouraged a popular film actor to float a party. If the government's intention was to make him politically insignificant, it has achieved that and much more.