Uttarakhand govt orders probe as don made 'mahant' in jail

The Uttarakhand government on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the matter of underworld don Prakash Pandey alias PP being given the title of Mahant in Almora jail.

According to a government release, Special Secretary (Home) Riddhim Agarwal has nominated Additional Inspector General, Prison Administration, Yashwant Chauhan as the investigating officer in the case and asked him to report within a week.

Pandey, involved in several cases of murder, robbery and ransom, was given 'diksha' by two sadhus inside the jail on September 5.

As part of the ritual, the gangster was made to wear a 'rudraksha' rosary and 'kanthi' amid mantra chanting.

The sadhus, who claimed to be from the Panch Dashnam Juna Akhara, also gave Pandey a new name, Prakashanand Giri, after the ceremony.

The sadhus were accompanied to the jail by another person who acted as a mediator in the entire process.

Meanwhile, the Juna Akhara has constituted its own inquiry committee to probe the matter.

The matter was discussed in the national executive meeting of the Juna Akhara held in Nagina, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

The meeting concluded with akhara's international patron Mahant Hari Giri constituting a seven-member committee headed by the body's national president Mahant Prem Giri to investigate the matter.

Later, in Haridwar, Mahant Hari Giri said that the committee will investigate every aspect of the episode, including any kind of monetary transaction.

He said the committee will present its report to the national executive in three months, on which necessary action will be taken after discussion in the central executive.

The mediator Krishna Kandpal, and the seers, after the diksha ritual had held a press conference in Almora where he gave the reason why the gangster was given the title.

"When I met PP bhai, I was impressed by his patriotic spirit. He had entered Pakistan once to kill Dawood (Ibrahim). He had even entered Vietnam to kill someone else but was arrested as there was a red-corner notice issued against him. He expressed his desire to tread the spiritual path. I talked to the seers and they agreed to offer him diksha," Kandpal had then told reporters.

"It was a subtle diksha programme. A larger and more elaborate one will be done at Prayagraj Kumbh in 2025," he had said.