Chennai: Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswathi, who has been arrested in connection with the Sankararaman murder case, has complained of "mental and psychological torture" while in police custody and has denied making any confessional statement.

"Though I was not physically tortured, I was mentally and psychologically tortured during my police custody. The police officials induced me to speak over mobile to several persons, which I declined with folded hands," he was quoted as saying by a five member delegation of NDA (National Democratic Alliance) MPs, which called on him at the Vellore Central Prison this afternoon.

The team members, Balbir Singh Punj, Rasa Singh Rawat, Jayabehn Thakkar (all BJP), Chandrakant Khare (Shiv Sena), and B J Panda (Biju Janata Dal), told a press conference in Chennai today (Dec 15, 2004) that the Shankaracharya described reports that he made a confessional statement to the police as a "total lie."

Punj, who led the team, said the Acharya was in good health. "Let God give wisdom to all. Let the truth come out," the Seer told them, he said.

He alleged that the police had unleashed a "reign of terror" in Kancheepuram and people were afraid of speaking even in a closed room.

He charged the police with raking up many cases to create evidence against the Seer in at least one case.

"In the Sankara Mutt at Kancheepuram and in that town, people are terrified, and unable to speak as there is an atmosphere of fear," he said.

Punj alleged that even Mutt officials were tortured by police, adding that under the present circumstances, no fair trial was possible in Tamil Nadu.

The cases against the Seer should be transferred to some other State, he said.

During their visit to Kancheepuram, the team called on Vijayendra Saraswathi, the junior Pontiff. He told them that normalcy should return to the Mutt and the town soon and wanted Jayendra Saraswathi to come out of prison to take over the administration of the Mutt, Punj said.

The team would be submitting its report to the NDA leadership which would decide the next course of action, he said.

Earlier after calling on Vijayendra Saraswathi, Punj told reporters that the team strongly believed that a fair trial was not possible in Tamil Nadu. "When the Best Bakery case was transferred from Gujarat to Maharashtra, why not this," he asked.