Yoga guru detained in BSP leader's murder case

A yoga guru has been detained by the Delhi crime branch in connection with the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party leader Deepak Bhardwaj, officials said in Indore.

Avinash Shastri, said to be the yoga trainer of a "spiritual guru," suspected to be behind Bhardwaj's murder allegedly over a land dispute, was detained from Umanand Parmarthic Nyas Ashram near the aerodrome on Thursday night, police said.

Shastri was taken into custody and interrogated by the Delhi crime branch police team at an undisclosed place, Aerodrome police station in-charge Akilesh Dwivedi told PTI.

Shastri is said to be a close friend of the spiritual guru and suspected to be in touch with the main accused in the case recently, Dwivedi said, quoting Delhi crime branch team officials.

The police team from Delhi landed here a couple of days back after locating mobile phone links of the spiritual leader in Indore at the Ashram run by Umanand, he said.

Umanand was missing from the Ashram when the team raided the place yesterday, he added.

The spiritual guru is said to have approached alleged shooters -- Purushottam Rana and Sunil Mann -- with the contract to kill Bhardwaj, the richest candidate in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Bhardwaj was murdered in his south Delhi farmhouse on March 26.

Though the motive is yet to be clear, as the main conspirators have not been nabbed, police suspect that property or money could be the reason behind the murder of Bhardwaj.