Self-proclaimed godman Chandraswami passes away at 66

New Delhi: Self-proclaimed godman Chandraswami, who during the 90s was named in several political scandals and financial irregularities, died on Tuesday at the age of 66.

According to the sources, he was suffering from a kidney condition and was put on dialysis. He, recently, also suffered a stroke.

Chandraswami had strong political connections and was also known to be a close aide of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. He was investigated in several high profile scams.

Originally known as Nemi Chand, Chandraswami was born in 1948, in the family of a Rajasthan's Behror-based money-lender.

Chandraswami was known as the spiritual advisor to Narasimha Rao, whose government (from 1991 to 1996) was shadowed by corruption charges.

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The sprawling ashram of Chandraswami, located in Delhi's Qutub Institutional Area, used to symbolise his power in the national politics at the time and was also recognised as a den of secret meetings and deals.

Reportedly, he also used to be spiritual advisor to the Sultan of Brunei, actress Elizabeth Taylor, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

He was also arrested on the charges of cheating in 1996 after a London-based businessman had claimed that the self-styled godman had embezzled $100,000 from him.

Eight years ago, his name was also raised in the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Supreme Court had questioned why no action was taken against the controversial godman if the government really suspected that he provided funds to LTTE for the assassination of the former PM.

He was ordered by the Supreme Court to pay a penalty in several Foreign Exchange Management Act violation cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate.