Permission granted to exhume Gopan Swami’s body; post-mortem to follow

Neyyattinkara: Authorities will exhume the body of Gopan Swami on Monday and conduct post-mortem to address suspicions surrounding his burial, which neighbours say they were unaware of. The burial site at Siddhan Bhavan, where Swami’s children reportedly interred him in a concrete tomb, has become the focus of a police investigation.

Police, who earlier sought permission from the district collector, will break open the tomb under the supervision of the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO).

As per the directive, the tomb will be opened on Monday morning in the presence of the RDO to confirm whether Gopan Swami's body is inside. If located, the body will be taken to the Medical College for a post-mortem. The police are investigating whether Gopan Swami was buried alive. If proven true, his wife, Sulochana, and children Sanandan and Rajasenan could face charges of murder.

Gopan Swami, also known as Maniyan (69), was reportedly seated on a sacred pedestal and interred in a concrete tomb following his death, according to his children’s statement to the police. However, suspicions arose when neighbors were not informed of his death. His children, Sanandan and Rajasenan, placed a flex board in front of their house last Thursday announcing that their father had attained samadhi, which was the first time the locals became aware of his death. This prompted them to file a complaint with the police. 

The police are currently treating the case as a missing person’s report based on complaints from two local residents. If the body is found relatively intact upon exhumation, it will be transported to the Medical College for post-mortem. Otherwise, the procedure will be conducted at a nearby location.