Controversial godman Santosh Madhavan dies

CONTROVERSIAL self-proclaimed godman Santhosh Madhavan, 64, died on Wednesday at a private hospital in Kochi due to heart disease. He was hospitalised on Tuesday.

Santhosh Madhavan ran a hermitage called Santhitheeram and was arrested in many controversies and fraud cases.

Santhosh Madhavan, who was convicted in a case of molesting a minor girl, was in jail for many years.

Santhosh, a native of Kattappana, later became a self-proclaimed godman under the name Swami Chaitanya. Born in an ordinary family, Santhosh left home after Class 10. Then many jobs were done. After that, he appeared as a godman.

It was in 2008 that Santhosh Madhavan's fraud and sexual harassment came to light. A foreign Malayalee first filed a complaint against him, accusing him of defrauding him of lakhs of rupees. Later, the police conducted an investigation and arrested Santhosh Madhavan.