Australian-born spiritualist shoots himself

An Australian-origin Indian citizen, who ran the Mirtola Ashram near Almora, allegedly committed suicide, an official said.
David Dare Ford, 72, shot himself with his licensed gun at around 9 this morning, Tehsildar Bhanoli sub-division Ishwar Singh Bheema said.
Mirtola Ashram, about 25 km from Almora, was established byanother Australiannamed Madhav Ashish in 1965.
Its heyday was in the late sixties and early seventieswhen several dignitaries, includingsenior Congress leader Karan Singh, would take part in the spiritualdiscourses there, locals said.
"David came to Indiato meethis mentor Madhav Ashish in 1965and laterconverted to Hinduism. He was known asSwami Devashish and was deeply involved insocialand religious work in the region," the official said.

It is being investigated why the spiritual leader took the extreme step, he said. His body has been sent for a postmortem.