Kancheepuram: Stepping up its investigation into the murder of a former employee of the Kanchi Mutt, whose chief Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati is under arrest, police tonight (Nov 15, 2004) questioned seven of its officials amidst day-long speculation that the Mutt premises would be searched.

The officials, including the manager and the cashier, were questioned for two hours. Some of the officials went to the Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) office at Orikkai near Kancheepuram, where the inquiry was to be held, but were told to go to the district police office.

Police arrested two persons yesterday in connection with an attack on a former Mutt official two years ago. They also went to the residence of the Mutt's official photographer and took away some photos from his album.

A police official arrived at the Mutt around 13:30 hrs (IST) to serve a summons on a person regarding the inquiry into the murder of former Mutt official Sankararaman. Police present there searched the belongings of those leaving the place, which was objected to by Shanmugam, the Mutt's lawyer.

Shanmugam later told reporters that police had been unnecessarily aggressive. "We are fully prepared to cooperate and there is nothing to hide. At no point of time have we resisted anything.

Chennai police sources said they were taking steps to arrest one Appu, suspected to be the leader of the gang which killed Sankararaman in September this year.

On the increased presence of police at the Mutt premises, Mutt manager Sundaresa Iyer said, "They have come here for our protection." However, he did not answer a question if the Mutt had asked for it.

Throughout the day, speculation was rife that the Mutt would be raided by police but lawyers said had any such exercise been carried out they would have received prior notice of it.

Ahead of the resumed hearing on the bail application by the Kanchi Shankaracharya in Madras High Court on Wednesday (Nov 17, 2004), senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Murli Manohar Joshi has been allowed by Tamil Nadu Government to meet the pontiff tomorrow and NDA (National Democratic Alliance) convenor George Fernandes is also going tomorrow in an attempt to see the Seer.

Protests against and condemnations of the pontiff's arrest continued in several parts of the country as Hindu outfits enforced a 12-hour strike in Kerala and staged demonstrations in Jalandhar, Varanasi and Panipat.

The VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) organised a rally in Chennai demanding the release of the Shankaracharya.

VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia alleged to reporters that Congress, DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) were playing "vote-bank" politics in view of coming assembly polls in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana and there was a "deep-rooted political conspiracy behind the arrest of the Shankaracharya.