Two years after the alleged suicide of Swami Gunatit, belonging to the Akshar Purshottam Swami Temple at Sokhda in Vadodara, the district police, following directions from the Gujarat High Court, on Friday lodged a non-cognizable offence to probe the allegations made by his nephew. Vadodara district Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand said the non-cognizable offence was registered following an oral order of the Gujarat High Court in July while it was hearing a petition filed by the nephew, Hasmukh Trangadiya, contending "inaction on the part of the police authority in not registering the FIR, pursuant to a complaint he had lodged on May 5, 2022". Swami Gunatit was found dead on on April 27, 2022. The oral order of the HC, dated July 26, had directed the Vadodara rural police to "take into consideration the complaint filed by (Trangadiya) and after going through the same, take a decision, whether the same discloses commission of a cognisable offence or not. if the police inspector is of the view that the same discloses commission of a cognisable offence, then appropriate directions be issued for registration of the FIR." The court had also directed the police to inform the complainant, in writing, if "no case is made out for registration of FIR". Anand told The Indian Express that after perusal of the evidence submitted by Trangadiya, a non-cognizable offence was registered under sections 192 (fabricating false evidence), 193 (giving false evidence in judicial proceedings), 199 (false statements made in declarations that are admissible as evidence in a court of law), 200 (use of false declarations as true) and 114 (crime committed in presence of an abettor) of the Indian Penal Code. "We have found that some persons from the sect were hiding facts pertaining to the death. An investigation has been initiated, as it would be if an FIR had been lodged but it is a non-cognizable offence right now and we need the permission of the court at every stage of the investigation.,” he said. “The complainant has been approaching different forums for redressal of his grievances and had also approached the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) when the police had filed a closure report in the case of unnatural death of the seer. The SDM had returned the closure report to us and thereafter, the complainant had approached the HC. As per the directions of the HC, we have begun a probe in the matter," he added.
