The Kerala Police on Thursday exhumed the mortal remains of a godman who passed away recently but was buried in secrecy by his family, who claimed the seer had attained samadhi. The partially decomposed body of 69-year-old Maniyan, who went by the name Gopan Swami, was exhumed from a recently erected concrete structure near the family's home in Thiruvananthapuram's Neyyattinkara.

CREDIT: BCCL

The body was found in a sitting position inside the burial structure, which the authorities opened after neighbours expressed doubts about the circumstances of his death.

According to Gopan Swami's wife and two sons, the seer walked to the burial site around 11.30 pm on Friday and entered samadhi.

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His son Rajasenan claimed that Gopan Swami had instructed the family to keep his body away from public view and bury it in the grave adjacent to a temple he had constructed and offered prayers.

However, some neighbours expressed doubts about the family's claim that Gopan Swami walked by himself to the burial site. They argued that the elderly man was in poor health and wasn't even in a condition to sit up on his own. They claimed foul play and expressed doubts that the seer could have been murdered.

But the family made a bizarre claim that Gopan Swami has not died and has attained samadhi, which they argued was a form of meditative sleep.

CREDIT: BCCL

The family and some Hindu groups also opposed the initial police attempts to open the burial to ascertain the cause of his death, arguing that it hurt their religious sentiments. They had also claimed that the site was holy and would become a pilgrimage spot in the future.

The family also moved the Kerala High Court on Wednesday against attempts to exhume the body. The HC rejected the plea, stating that probe agencies have the authority to investigate cases involving individuals who go missing or die under suspicious circumstances.

CREDIT: BCCL

The court observed that there appeared to be something suspicious in this matter and, therefore, the investigation could not be stopped.

The court also noted that, in the absence of Gopan Swami's death certificate, his death would be presumed unnatural.

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