Udupi, (DHNS): Shiroor Mutt seer Lakshmivara Theertha Swamiji passed away under suspicious circumstances on Thursday morning at KMC Hospital in Manipal. The 55-year-old seer was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday with food poisoning and diarrhoea, which affected his blood pressure. Following a complaint from a family member, the Heeriydka police have filed a case of unnatural death. The seer’s brother Lathavya Acharya filed a complaint suspecting poison in the blood samples and demanded a thorough probe.

According to a statement from Kasturba Hospital, “The seer was brought to the hospital at 1.05 am on Wednesday from a private hospital in Udupi. On arrival, he was found to be critically ill with breathlessness, severe hypotension and massive gastrointestinal bleed. He had a history of diarrhoea prior to this episode. A team of doctors from Kasturba Hospital — physicians, gastroenterologist, nephrologists and critical care specialists — provided medical care in the form of ventilatory support, blood transfusion and dialysis. There is suspicion of poisoning and toxicological samples have been sent for testing. He was declared dead at 8.30 am on Thursday.”

On the apprehension of the doctors that there were poisonous substances in the body, the case was handed over to the police and the post-mortem was carried out. Superintendent of police Lakshman Nimbargi said, “It is too early to come to a conclusion. However, a case has already been filed at Heeriydka police station on a complaint that there was poison in the body. The police will take all necessary steps to probe the case from all angles.” He declined to comment further on the issue and stressed that they will rely on the post-mortem report before arriving at any conclusion.