A new website set up by followers of the Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram seeks to disseminate "authentic information" about the controversy surrounding his arrest in a murder case.

The website, www.kanchi-stathya.org, to which a link has been provided on the Kanchipuram mutt's official site - www.kamakoti.org - features links to selected reports and articles on developments surrounding pontiff Jayendra Saraswathi since his arrest Nov 11.

The influential Hindu seer is in judicial custody as the prime accused in the murder of temple official Sankar Raman.

"In many instances we know what appears in the media is certainly far from truth. Yet when they persist in spreading such information, we stop to wonder," the new website says in a section titled "What to do, where to go, whom to ask."

"The problem is compounded by the prosecution feeding the media simultaneously while filing papers to the high court."

The website says the anguish and pain of devotees all around the world is "immeasurable" and it is their "yearning to know the truth and the real issues that has led" to the launch of the website.

Talking about its objective, the website says it would be "deemed successful if it brought better awareness of the key issues, some understanding, hope and clarity even if it is only for a few".

The site does not profess to be unbiased as it is put up by devotees of the mutt. "It only presents all the facts and information in favour of our Periyavaal (head) and the mutt in a fair manner. If you are looking for anything else more sensational, you have a wide range of media to choose from."

Incidentally, the Kanchi mutt is the only one among the top Sankara mutts in the country to have a website - www.kamakoti.org.

The website even while claiming the Kanchi mutt's uniqueness, however, makes no mention of the four mutts set up originally by Hindu saint Adi Sankara at Sringeri (present Karnataka), Dwarka (Gujarat), Puri (Orissa) and Badrinath (Uttaranchal).

--Indo-Asian News Service