State Congress vice-president Surya Kant Dhasmana has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the death of the Ganga crusader Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand.  The technocrat-turned-ascetic had died at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh on Thursday after a observing a marathon fast for 110 days.

The Congress leader said that the high-level probe into the death is warranted by the doubt aired by Sanand’s spiritual mentor Swami Shivanand and Matri Sadan which he heads. “They said that the ascetic might have been killed. Besides, Swami Shivanand and others of the ashram have held both the Centre and the State  responsible for the death of the Ganga activist. Against this backdrop, the lingering suspicion over the death of the ascetic must be cleared through a high level inquiry,” he said.

He, further, said that his party would hold a candle march in Dehradun on Saturday evening by way of paying tribute to the Swami Sanand who has sacrificed his life for the cause of the holy river Ganga. The State Congress chief Pritam Singh would lead the candle march , attended by the party leaders and activists. The march would start at 5.30 pm from the State Congress office and would end at Clock Tower, Dhasmana informed.

Flaying Premier Narendra Modi for remembering Ganga, Cow and Ram only during the time of polls, Dhasmana said that despite Modi having  proclaimed himself as a son of Ganga in Varanasi, he has no time to consider the deplorable state of the sacred river in Haridwar. “Modi paid no heed to the letters written to him on Ganga by  Swami Sanand. He also ignored the long-dragging fast of the crusader of Ganga which caused his death,” he added.