Kancheepuram: Expressing deep sadness over the suicide of a Hindu Munnani activist protesting the arrest of Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswathi, junior Shankaracharya of the Mutt Vijayendra Saraswathi today (Nov 23, 2004) asked the devotees to remain calm and pray to God for the ordeal faced by the senior Acharya to end.

"Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal expressed deep sadness over the death of the activist. He has asked the devotees (of the Mutt) to be calm and not to indulge in any violent activities," Mutt spokesman R Sankaran told reporters in Kancheepuram this evening.

Spotlight: Kanchi Jayendra Saraswathi's Arrest

Depressed over the arrest of the Seer, Shanmugham had committed suicide by consuming poison at Palladam in Coimbatore District.

To a question on the Mutt's future course of legal action, he said they would await the local court's decision on November 26 when the 15 days judicial remand of the Seer, arrested in a murder case, would end.

The Shankaracharya's counsel Y Thyagarajan, when contacted, said that their expectation was that the remand would not be extended beyond November 26.

The Seer was sent back to judicial remand in Vellore Prison yesterday (Nov 22, 2004) after a magistrate court refused to extend his three-day police custody by another day.