Bengaluru, Jan 19: In a shocking incident on Monday, a woman committed suicide by setting herself ablaze during the customary morning pooja at Swami Sivananda Mutt in Koppla district in Karnataka.
The victim has been identified as Padmavathi a disciple in the mutt. She also injured the main seer of the mutt, Swami Sivananda Sri, as she fell on him, while she was on fire.
The seer, who suffered 80 per cent burns, has been admitted to a hospital in Bagalkot and is in a critical condition.
According to the local residents, the seer had been living in the mutt since four decades.
Prabhavati, a resident of Hanchali village in Vijayapur district, joined the mutt ten years ago as a disciple of the seer.
The seer, aged around 80 years, had written a will appointing his successor. Prabhavati is said to have been reportedly miffed over not being mentioned in the will, according to the local residents.
This may have prompted her to immolate herself, while the seer may have sustained burn injuries while attempting to put out the fire, they said.
The mutt, which is a branch of the Shivananda Mutt in Gadag, had a small property and the offerings from the devotees were the only source of revenue, the residents said.
The Bewoor police have registered a case of suicide.
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