PRAYAGRAJ, September 25 (HS): The lawyer for Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) leader Narendra Giri stated that the seer wrote his will in 2010 and revised it twice in 2011 and 2020, eventually designating Balbeer Giri as his successor and mahant of Baghambari Math after his death.
On September 20, Mahant Narendra Giri, 62, was found dead in Shri Math Baghambari Gaddi in Prayagraj. The mahant had made his will for the first time on January 7, 2010, according to lawyer Rishi Shankar Dwivedi. ?When I became his lawyer in 2011, he already had a will written on dated January 7, 2010, in which he selected Balbeer Giri as his successor.
However, he requested that I amend his will (dated August 29, 2011) to identify Anand Giri as his successor,? said Dwivedi, a resident of Prayagraj’s Allahapur. ?In 2020, he amended his will again, replacing Anand Giri with Balbeer Giri, claiming he would better look after the Math and the temple,? he added. When questioned why the mahant wrote a will so early (in 2010), Dwivedi claimed it was usual for seers to do so since they think death might strike at any time. The lawyer also raised suspicion over Mahant Narendra Giri’s signature and handwriting on the “so-called suicide letter.” ?Although the cops have the last say, I’ve seen his handwriting for over a decade,? he opined. Dwivedi stated, “He never wrote such long letters, and to the best of my knowledge, that is not his handwriting.” Narendra Giri contacted him at 12.45 p.m. on the fateful day (September 20) from a new number and said he wanted to talk about something extremely important, but he didn’t say what it was over the phone.
?There was a squabble between mahant Narendra Giri and Anand Giri over a plot of land in the Baghambari Math. Narendra Giri had previously leased to Anand Giri a plot of land of about 400 square feet (on the right side of the Math’s entrance). He intended to cancel the lease and start a petrol pump so that the money might go toward the Math’s expenditures. Anand Giri, on the other hand, was opposed to the move, resulting in a rift between the two,? he said.
Dwivedi stated that whatever was written in Narendra Giri’s suicide note will remain, and that Balbeer Giri should be the mahant’s successor according to the law. When asked about Anand Giri’s assertions that his guru Narendra Giri amassed a large amount of wealth in the names of his family and followers, Dwivedi responded, “These are bogus accusations.” The Math’s popularity and wealth grew by leaps and bounds under Narendra Giri?s supervision. Whatever he did, it was all for the sake of sanatan dharm and Math.?
?The will (dated June 4, 2020) was signed by Narendra Giri in my presence, and it was his final will which is registered,? said Man Singh, a 76-year-old lawyer from the district’s lower court. He is among one of the two witnesses to Narendra Giri’s last will. Another lawyer, RK Upadhyay, is the will’s second witness.
