‘Mamoni’ Samhita Roy, the head of the Akhanda Mandali, with devotees. Picture by Pabitra Das

The desperation of a man undergoing psychiatric treatment to return to prominence in Gurudham triggered the bloodbath in the spiritual organisation on Wednesday evening, said insiders of the 93-year-old institution.

As devotees thronged the sprawling Kankurgachhi campus to pay their last tributes to Samhita Roy — head of the Akhanda Mandali — the only question doing the rounds was how anyone could kill their favourite Mamoni.

Kalipada Das, a former monk with the institution, stabbed Samhita and her aide Dulu Dutta to death. Das, who was later beaten to death, had also attacked another monk, Ananda Kamal Brahmachari, whose condition is still critical.

“Das was desperate to play a major role in running the organisation. His desperation made him a psychiatric patient and Mamoni even sent him to a doctor for treatment. How could he kill Mamoni?” asked Supriyo Kar, the joint secretary of the West Bengal chapter of the Akhanda Mandali.

Mamoni, the head of the institution since the death of its founder Swami Swarupananda Paramahansa Deva in 1984, has been running the organisation with the help of a 12-member executive committee.

“He (Das) always wanted to be on the executive committee, but we did not want him because he had strayed from the teachings of the Mandali,” said Arun Dey, a devotee and part of the institution since 1964.

According to him, the institution has a history of power play over control of the executive committee. In the last election in November 2007, two groups even clashed with each other, said a devotee.

“Das thought that Mamoni had spoilt his chances of making it to the executive committee and that’s why he might have killed her,” said Samar Dutta, another devotee.

The executive committee controls the Akhanda Mandali’s properties in Bengal and other states and also runs its publishing and herbal medicine units. Estimates suggest that the assets under the executive committee’s control are not less than Rs 500 crore.

The spiritual organisation has over 1,000 branches across the country and Bangladesh and an impressive list of devotees, including Union minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.

“I was a direct disciple of Swarupanandaji. I am shocked at what has happened at Gurudham,” said Das Munshi.

Over 500 devotees gathered at the Kankurgachhi address after Mamoni’s body was brought to the campus on Thursday. Holding Das responsible for Mamoni’s death, they were asking how the former monk, thrown out of the institution eight years ago, could enter the campus.

Police, however, are yet to ascertain the motive behind the killing.

“We could not examine the monks today as they were busy performing the post-death rituals. We will start collecting their statements from tomorrow,” said Jawed Shamim, the deputy commissioner of police (detective department), on Thursday.