The self-proclaimed spiritual guru, Bhaiyyu Maharaj, who was recently in news for refusing ministerial rank granted by the Madhya Pradesh government, allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday by shooting himself.
Who was Bhaiyyu Maharaj?
— Bhaiyyu Maharaj, whose original name was Uday Singh Deshmukh, was born into a zamindar (landowner) family from Maharashtra in 1968.
— Bhaiyyu Maharaj was a popular Maratha ‘spiritual guru’ with a large following in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
— Known for his extravagant lifestyle, he operated from an ashram in Indore city.
— He has been seen with top political leaders such as Devendra Fadnavis, and legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar among others.
— Prior to becoming the spiritual guru, he had done a stint in modelling.
— In 2011, he also played the role of a mediator when India Against Corruption (IAC) movement led by Anna Hazare was at its peak.
— His first wife Madhavi died in 2015.
— In 2017, the self-proclaimed spiritual guru courted controversy on his wedding day after a woman, who claimed to be an actress, accused him of “cheating” on her and termed him a “trickster”.
— Bhaiyyu Maharaj had married Dr Ayushi Sharma, a native of Shivpuri, in Indore, a year after announcing his intention to take ‘sanyas’ from public life.
— His decision to remarry had allegedly upset many of his disciples.
— Bhaiyyu Maharaj was one of the five ‘saints’ to whom the Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh had granted Minister of State (MoS) rank in April, 2018. However, he had refused the position.