The violence in Mathura is allegedly linked to the dispute between supporters of a so-called spiritual guru Jai Gurudev whose empire is estimated to be worth over Rs 12,000 crore. Jai Gurudev's massive and opulent ashrams are situated on the Mathura-Delhi highway and in Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.
His empire allegedly includes land worth Rs 4000 crore, a massive fleet of cars including several Mercedes and Plymouths worth over Rs 150 crore, and more than Rs 100 crore in banks deposits.
Sources say the daily offerings made by his supporters at the ashrams are around Rs 10-12 lakh. Gurudev’s original name was Tulsidas Maharaj and he reportedly died in 2012.
Over two years ago, Gurudev’s supporters occupied hundreds of acres of land of Jawahar Bagh in Mathura on the pretext of a dharna (protest).
The supporters belonging to a splinter group, known as Swadheen Bharat Andolan, clashed with the police on Thursday when the force tried to evict them from Jawahar Bagh resulting in the death of 19 people including two police officers.
UP Police IG (Law and Order) HR Sharma said around 3,000 encroachers pelted stones and later opened fire at the police team. They also allegedly used grenades and automatic weapons to attack the police force. Police have recovered a huge cache of arms from the area.
The police action came following an order by the Allahabad High Court to clear the area.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav are also said to be his supporters.
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