Crime branch adopted ‘different’ strategy to re-arrest Sadhvi Jayshree Giri:IG J K Bhatt

Ahmedabad: The crime branch of Ahmedabad police used the strategy of tracking the possible vehicular movement of the controversial lady Mahant of Mukteshwat temple, Jayshree Giri, through CCTV cameras on toll points in Gujarat and Rajasthan to re-arrest her after her sensational escapade from here a week ago, as tracing her phone calls was almost impossible owing to her being a ‘clever dodger’,’ IGP J K Bhatt today said.

Meanwhile Giri, who was first arrested in January this year from her residence in Palanpur city of north Gujarat in connection with a sensational cheating case and was later sent to Sabarnati central jail after over half a dozen such cases were lodged against her, and was re-arrested from Udaipur in neighbouring Rajasthan last night was brought here today.

Addressing a press conference here on the occasion, Bhatt said that she had fled to Udaipur in Rajasthan to be with her son, who was manager of a hotel in Shrinathdwara there. She had stayed in Udaipur and Shrinathdwara at various places.

‘We had to use a different strategy to re-arrest her as she was a clever dodger. During her run, to dodge the police whenever she had to talk to some one over phone she used to go to 60 to 70 kms away for that. So tracing her actual location through mobile phone tracking was not possible. We tracked her vehicular movements instead. We succeeded in searching her vehicle through CCTV footage of a toll point in Udaipur. Later after confirmation she was nabbed with two others last night from Nathdwara road,’ he said.

She had fled after going to a mall under police observation from Zydus hospital in Thaltej area where she was under treatment for stone after getting parole on June 4 for 10 days. Before her fleeing she had went for massage and even went to a cinema hall to dodge the policemen accompanying her. She reportedly ran away on the pretext of going for shopping in Himalaya mall in drive-in road in the city.

The crime branch of Ahmedabad police had on the very next day of her fleeing on June 15 nabbed six people including a woman Darshnaben Pandya, who was one of the main conspirator in the escapade and policeman and lady constables deployed with her. One Badal Desai helped her move outside the state.

Banskantha SP Neeraj Badgujar said that apart from a murder case there were 8 cases of cheating against her in Banaskantha district alone. She was also booked under the prohibition act for possession of liquor.

Sadhivi Giri, the Mahant of Mukteshwar math Shiv temple, also an accused in the murder case of her predecessor Sajnay Giri in 2008, was stripped of Mahamadaleshwar title and removed from the management of famous Bhavnath temple of Junagadh soon after her arrest.

The 47 year old controversial former head of Mukteshwar Math, situated in Badgam area of Banaskantha district, Sadhvi Giri was arrested in January this year in connection with a cheating case filed by a local jeweler. During a raid in this connection at her residence in Gauri Park Society in Paschim police station area of Palanpur, the headquarter town of Banaskantha district, altogether 6300 notes of Rs 2000 denominations worth Rs 1.26 crore, over 3.5 lakh in smaller denominations and 24 gold bars each weighing 100 gms with bottles of liquor were recovered. Notably, the Sadhvi was seen showering Rs 2000 notes on a well known singer during a folk music event (Dyro).

DeshGujarat