Gorakhpur (UP), Oct 6 (PTI) A tantrik in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh entered a pit and began covering himself with soil, saying that he was taking "samadhi" before police arrived on the scene, officials said on Thursday.

Local people sang bhajans as the elderly man entered the pit he had dug himself in Machriya village under the Turkpatti police station limits on Tuesday night, saying that he was doing it for the sake of "tantrik vidya". One man in the gathering called up the police, they said.

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As soon as the police reached the spot, those gathered there fled, the police said.

The occultist, Lallan alias Sadhu Yadav, told police officials that he was taking 'samadhi' for "tantra vidya" and that his wife and two children were already dead, Turkpatti police station in-charge Ashutosh Singh said.

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The official said the tantrik may have announced that he was taking 'samadhi' to gain fame and popularity.

The police are looking for the people who had gathered while the occultist attempted to take 'samadhi' and investigating the case from different angles, Singh added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)