Dainik Bhaskar sting: Mahants from Juna, Nirvani & Nirmohi Akharas allegedly offered Mahamandaleshwar / Jagatguru titles for ₹20 lakh or land
A Dainik Bhaskar investigation claims that senior mahants from three major akharas — Juna, Nirvani, and Nirmohi — offered high religious titles like Mahamandaleshwar (and even Jagatguru in some cases) in exchange for money or property.According to the report:
- A reporter posed as a wealthy IT professional who had returned from the US (Cupertino), claimed to have made a lot of money, and said he now wanted to leave corporate life and become a high-ranking sadhu rather than an ordinary one.
- He was allegedly told that the title could be arranged for around ₹20 lakh, or by registering land in the akhara’s name for an ashram that he would run himself.
- Separate meetings took place in Nashik and Haridwar with figures from the three akharas.
- The investigation suggests the process for these titles was being treated transactionally in the cases they recorded.
The video and report include clips of conversations and name specific mahants connected to the offers.