Cult leader died in prison cell bed, inquest hears

A coroner found Aravindan Balakrishnan died of natural causes in his prison cell bed

A Maoist cult leader who committed a string of sex assaults and kept his daughter captive for three decades in London was found dead in bed in his prison cell, an inquest has heard.

Aravindan Balakrishnan, 81, of Enfield, who called himself Comrade Bala and brainwashed his cult into thinking he had godlike powers and could read their minds, was jailed for 23 years in 2016.

Balakrishnan died in April 2022 at HMP Dartmoor and Devon Coroner’s Court heard he was found by a fellow inmate before prison officers attempted CPR but were unable to revive him.

Coroner Philip Spinney found Balakrishnan to have died of natural causes.

The inquest heard Balakrishnan was on a wing for prisoners who were either in poor health or regarded as vulnerable, that he was suffering from diabetes and vascular dementia and was described as "pretty frail".

Devon and Cornwall Police were informed of his sudden death and an investigation did not find any suspicious circumstances.

Pathologist Dr Russell Delaney found Balakrishnan had died from a lower respiratory tract infection, with secondary causes of vascular dementia, diabetes and ischemic heart disease.

No external injuries were found and a test for Covid-19 was negative.

No members of his family attended the brief hearing at County Hall in Exeter.