The parents of Sangeetha Arjunan (24), a sanyasini at Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, near Bidadi, have sought a probe into her death suspecting foul play.

Sangeetha, who was from Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu, died on December 28. She collapsed in the ashram and died while being taken to a hospital in Bengaluru. While ashram authorities have said Sangeetha died of cardiac arrest, her family and friends have alleged foul play.

Sangeethas father, Arjunan, and mother, Jhansirani, met Ramanagaram Superintendent of Police (SP) Chandragupta on Saturday and submitted a petition seeking a through probe into their daughters death. He said no first information report was registered.

Mr. Chandragupta told The Hindu, Sangeethas mother filed a complaint of unnatural death with us on December 29. According to sources in the SPs office, some supporters of Nithyananda prevented the couple from addressing the media.

Mr. Arjunan had filed a petition against the ashram authorities with Ramji Nagar police in Tiruchi. The Ramji Nagar police had instructed the couple to approach the jurisdictional Ramanagaram police, a relative of Ms. Sangeetha told presspersons.

In a statement, the ashram authorities said Sangeetha died of cardiac arrest. They claimed some of her family members had died at a young age owing to cardiac problems. Her cousin died of cardiac arrest a day before Sangeethas death, they claimed.

Sangeetha had been staying in the ashram for the past four years. She was renamed Ma Nithya Turiyateetananda after she joined the ashram.

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Womans death in ashram: parents suspect foul play

Bengaluru, Jan 5, 2015, DHNS:

The Nityananda Dhyanapeetam situated near Bidadi is again in the eye of a controversy following the death of Sangeeta, 24-year-old woman volunteer on the ashram premises on December 28, 2014.

At a press meet on Sunday, Jhansi Rani, the mother of Sangeeta, alleged that Nityananda and his associates Hamsananda and Ranjita were behind Sangeetha's death. Rani said that she got a call on December 28 from the authorities at the Ashram stating that Sangeetha collapsed at the Ashram and when taken to a hospital in the City, the doctors declared her brought dead.

We rushed to the ashram and found her body. There were blood stains near her nose and mouth. It was not possible for Sangeetha to die due to a massive cardiac arrest and rather something has led to her death.

A senior police officer said that the parents of Sangeetha have filed a complaint with Ramanagar superintendent of police. The body was sent for post-mortem. Further action will be taken after receiving the autopsy report, he said.

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Death at Bidadi ashram: Victim's mother blames Nitya, associates

PATNA, India: Indian police have arrested two brothers accused of repeatedly raping a 22-year-old Japanese tourist over three weeks near Bodh Gaya, Buddhism's holiest site, an official said on Saturday (Jan 3). The tourist had been held hostage at gunpoint in a secluded underground room close to a pilgrimage site, according to a preliminary investigation.

"When her health condition deteriorated due to repeated rape and poor living conditions, she was brought to Gaya (town) for medical treatment on Dec 20," a police officer who is part of the investigation told AFP on condition of anonymity. But she managed to escape and reached Varanasi where she met some Japanese tourists who helped her contact the Japanese consulate in the nearby city of Kolkata, the officer added.

Sajid Khan, 32, and his 25-year-old brother Jawed Khan, both tourist guides, were arrested in the case on Friday, police deputy superintendent Alok Kumar Singh said. "We have arrested the duo for confining and raping the Japanese student," Singh told AFP by telephone from Bodh Gaya.

The Bodh Gaya complex, 110 kilometres south of Bihar state capital Patna, is home to one of the earliest Buddhist temples still standing in India and attracts visitors from all over the world.

The Japanese woman, a university student, had come to Gaya from Kolkata where she had checked into a hotel in November.

India has faced intense scrutiny over its efforts to curb violence against women following the fatal gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi in 2012 which sparked global outcry. Since then, several attacks on foreign women have also been reported, leading to a dip in tourist numbers to the country.

Last January, a 51-year-old Danish tourist was robbed and gang raped at knife-point in Delhi. In 2013, a Swiss cyclist holidaying in central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was robbed and gang raped by five men, all of whom were later sentenced to life terms.

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Two brothers arrested in India over rape of Japanese tourist