Who is Gopan Swami? Mystery deepens in death of self-proclaimed Kerala seer as his backstory emerges

By Deepu Mohan  |  First Published Jan 14, 2025, 9:05 PM IST

Gopan Swami's family claimed he attained "Samadhi" and buried him, but police investigate amid suspicions of foul play.

Who is Gopan Swami? Mystery deepens in death of self-proclaimed Kerala seer as his backstory emerges dmn

Thiruvananthapuram: The name 'Gopan Swami' gained widespread attention after his children put up posters in Neyyattinkara claiming that their father had attained 'Samadhi' (a deep state of meditation) and had a memorial erected after burying him. However, the situation took a mysterious turn when neighbours raised suspicions about Gopan Swami's death at Athiyannoor Kavuvilakath. The police visited the site of the tomb to exhume the body but faced opposition from the family and group of individuals. Despite the confusion, the name Gopan Swami began trending, even appearing on Google search.

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Maniyan, who later became known as Gopan Swami, had previously worked as a weaver and a porter. He initially lived in Plavila at Kavuvilakam in Athiyannoor, where he worked as a weaver before transitioning to his role as a porter. Later, he and his family moved to Aalummoodu, where Gopan worked with the BMS and AITUC unions.

Over time, Gopan Swami turned towards spirituality, adopting the name Gopan Swami. He built a temple and began performing rituals. Around 20 years ago, he bought land in Kavuvilakam and constructed a house. Later, he built the Kailasanathan Mahadevar Temple adjacent to his home and conducted pujas there. Locals have alleged that occult practices, including midnight rituals, were carried out at the temple.

In recent years, Gopan Swami had been receiving treatment for hypertension and diabetes at a private hospital in Parassala. He had been bedridden for several months before passing away last Tuesday at 10:30 am. His son Rajasekharan, a priest, claimed that his father walked to the Samadhi platform before placing his hand on Rajasekharan’s head to bless him. Rajasekharan also claimed that his father had built the Padma Peetham five years ago with the intention of entering Samadhi.

The police, who had been investigating the matter, registered a case of a missing person based on complaints from locals. While Rajasekharan initially claimed that Gopan Swami had walked to the tomb and entered Samadhi around 11 am on Thursday, a close relative contradicted this, saying that Gopan was critically ill and bedridden when they visited him on Thursday morning. The police are dealing with conflicting statements from family members and relatives. Given a complaint from locals alleging possible harm to Gopan Swami, the police are considering exhuming the body once a consensus is reached.

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