Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): The Ujjain police have arrested former Mahamandaleshwar Mandakini Puri aka Mamta Joshi for allegedly duping a Mahant of Rs 7.5 lakh on Tuesday morning. The accused allegedly received the amount from the mahant on pretext of bestowing on him the esteemed title of 'Mahamandaleshwar'
Mahamandaleshwar Narmadashankar informed Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri about the incident. Following which, an FIR of fraud was lodged at the Mahakal police station.
Earlier, Mahant Sureshwaranand Puri of Niranjani Akhara filed a case of fraud at the Chimanganj Mandi police station on May 6.
He had told the police that on April 15, Mamta Joshi had talked about getting the title of Mahamandaleshwar in a Shri Panchayati Niranjani Akharain exchange of Rs 7.5 lakh. When contacted at the Akhara headquarters, it was told that the title was not given for money. Feeling cheated, the victim asked Mandakini to return his money. To this, she refused.
After the police complaint, Mandakini was expelled from the Akhara. A few days later, on May 7, she attempted suicide by drinking pesticide. She was undergoing treatment in the Ujjain district hospital. The police arrested her as soon as she was discharged on Tuesday morning.
Notably, another FIR was registered against Mandakini Puri on May 10. The case was registered by Mahamandaleshwar Narmadashankar, a resident of Jaipur in Niranjani Akhara. He alleged that Mandakini had taken Rs 8.9 lakh on the pretext of making Acharya Mahamandaleshwar. He transferred this amount to her online in different instalments in the last seven months.
