Swami Bhadranandaji, who runs an outfit called “Karma” in Kochi, began falling out with the media after some local newspapers began poking into his activities after the fall of another high-profile local godman, Swami Amritachaitanya last week. The latter was exposed to have been a fraudster wanted by Interpol — besides a porn video star and producer, mostly using under-age girls from poor families, many lured in with educational sponsorships.

Bhadranandaji, who loved dropping names and claiming high political connections, even fixed an official red beacon of the kind ministers, high court judges and senior officials use, on the dome of his personal car. He had a sizeable following in Kochi and Kozhikode, and had often been hogging attention with his predictions and claims, including his political prophesies, until reports hinted at a darker side too.

The swami had barged into a local newspaper office on Friday and threatened the staff there for printing some unedifying reports, and the police had promptly filed a case against him. On Saturday morning, he called the media to his home to announce his protest suicide, and the police had got him to shift the drama to the police station instead.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the swami appeared to have got a gun license from the local administration without police verification. Though the swami had claimed the minister was his close pal, Balakrishnan denied it.