A native of Behror, Rajasthan, Chandraswami, 66, was born Nemi Chand. He shot to fame due to his proximity with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and later with Narasimha Rao, who considered him as his spiritual adviser
Chandraswami, a controversial and powerful 'godman', who was close to former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, died here at Apollo Hospital on Tuesday. He was ailing for a while after suffering a stroke and had later suffered a multi-organ failure, a hospital statement said.
A native of Behror, Rajasthan, Chandraswami, 66, was born Nemi Chand. He shot to fame due to his proximity with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and later with Narasimha Rao, who considered him as his spiritual adviser. During Rao's tenure, Chandraswami's Vishwa Dharmayatan Sanathan Ashram, at Qutub Institutional Area in Delhi, became a hub for the who's who of Delhi's power circles. The land for the ashram, reportedly, was allotted by Indira Gandhi.
His much talked about astrology skills saw him advising a range of public figures and celebrities, that included the likes of former British PM Margaret Thatcher, Hollywood diva Elizabeth Taylor, the Sultan of Brunei, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and British businessman Ronald Rowland.
In his autobiography, the former external affairs minister K.Natwar Singh, had said that in 1975, Chandraswami met Margaret Thatcher, who was then a leader of the conservative party. During their meeting, Chandraswami predicted that Thatcher would go on to become the Prime Minister of her country.
While his 'guru' image was one that was known at first, Chandraswami was later also mired in several cases of financial irregularities and frauds. In fact, Chandraswami was also probed for his alleged role, in the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, as part of the Jain Commission investigations headed by former Justice MC Jain. He was accused of providing financial backing for the assassination.
In 1996, the 'godman' was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly duping a London-based businessman. Besides, the ED was also investigating him for several other alleged violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. In the same year, Chandraswami's alleged dealings with Dawood Ibrahim, too, came to the fore and the government at Centre instituted a CBI inquiry against him.
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