Maoist Cult Leader Aravindan Balakrishnan Found Dead in Prison Cell
Aravindan Balakrishnan, the infamous South London Maoist cult leader known as Comrade Bala, was found dead in his prison cell at HMP Dartmoor, an inquest has revealed. The 81-year-old was serving a 23-year sentence for brutal sexual assaults and imprisoning his own daughter for 30 years.
Convicted Cult Leader Dies of Natural Causes Behind Bars
Balakrishnan was discovered by a fellow inmate on April 8, 2022. The cult chief had been convicted in 2016 at Southwark Crown Court of multiple offences, including four rapes, six indecent assaults, cruelty to a child under 16, actual bodily harm, and false imprisonment.
He was held in a vulnerable prisoner wing at Dartmoor due to his poor health, suffering from diabetes, vascular dementia, and ischemic heart disease. Prison officers attempted CPR but failed to revive him.
No Suspicious Circumstances in Cult Leader’s Death
Devon and Cornwall Police investigated the sudden death and found no suspicious circumstances. Pathologist Dr. Russell Delaney confirmed Balakrishnan died from a lower respiratory tract infection, with other health issues contributing.
“On April 8, 2022, Aravindan Balakrishnan was discovered deceased in his cell at HMP Dartmoor where he was serving a sentence of imprisonment,” said Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay. “He died of natural causes and my overall conclusion will be natural causes.”
The Cult Leader’s Dark Legacy of Abuse
Balakrishnan, originally from Enfield, London, brainwashed his cult, the Workers’ Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, convincing members he had godlike powers and could read minds. He idolised tyrants like Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, and Saddam Hussein and aimed to be greater than them all.
His daughter, Katy Morgan-Davies, waived her anonymity to speak about the horrific abuse she endured. “It was horrible, so dehumanising and degrading. I felt like a caged bird with clipped wings,” she said.
Balakrishnan controlled his followers with fear, inventing an invisible war machine called “Jackie” that he claimed could kill or cause earthquakes if disobeyed. He barred his daughter from leaving the house or socialising and sexually assaulted two followers “by appointment.”
Though Balakrishnan is dead, the scars of his reign of terror are a grim reminder of the dangers of cult control and abuse of power.
