Controversial spiritual leader Chandraswami passes away

Controversial spiritual guru Chandraswami passed away on Tuesday due to renal failure at the age of 66.

Chandraswami was on dialysis. He also suffered stroke followed by severe sepsis and developed multi-organ failure.

His real name was Nemi Chand and was born in 1948.

Chandraswami was considered close to former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. He built an ashram in Delhi's Qutub Institutional Area after Rao became the prime minister.

Chandraswami's name was embroiled in many controversies. His name also figured in the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case.

The Supreme Court had ordered him to pay penalty in several Foreign Exchange Management Act violation cases registered by the enforcement directorate. He was arrested in 1996 on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman of $100,000.

-ANI