BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, December 27, 2008: The BJD-BJP Government in Orissa is closing in on Congress Rajya Sabha member and former civil servant Radhakanta Nayak for his “alleged role in the conspiracy to kill Lakshmanananda Saraswati.”
Sources say that Nayak, the most high-profile Christian political leader in the State, may be arrested shortly. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has alleged that the plot to kill Lakshamananda Saraswati was “hatched in the presence of Nayak.”
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Orissa police is said to be preparing a case against Nayak and his supporters. Though CID officials refused to comment whether they considered Nayak as one of the suspects, they said: “The mastermind has been identified and he is now out of Orissa.”
Nayak, when contacted by The Indian Express, said the allegations that he conspired to kill the Swami were “absolutely absurd and completely false”. “I feel very surprised by the charges,” he said over the phone from New Delhi.