Aug. 17: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formally taken up investigation of the case related to the death of Swaroopam Kumar Girish alias Swami Nigamanand.

A native of Ladari village under Keoti block in Darbhanga district, he breathed his last at Jolly Hospital in Dehradun on June 13 after he went on fast-unto-death on various issues, including making the Ganga pollution free and checking illegal mining.

CBI spokesperson in Delhi Dharini Mishra said the CBI had taken up the investigation of the case soon after the issuance of the formal notification by the central government last month. “But a formal notification was issued on August 14,” she said.

Sources said Nilabh Kishore has been entrusted with the task of conducting the investigation. The probe team has not yet contacted the family members and relatives of Nigamanand, who was associated with Hardwar-based Matri Sadan run by Swami Shivanand. With the probe handed over to the CBI, the parents and relatives of Nigamanand expect the real culprits would be brought to book. Nigamanand’s uncle Subhash Chandra Jha, a lecturer in Mithila Research Institute at Darbhanga, said it was a matter of relief for the family that the CBI would probe the case.

Nigamanand had left his house in search of “truth” in 1995.