Thousands of devotees, some of them politicians, cricket players and Bollywood stars, thronged Puttaparthi to see the body of Indian spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba who passed away on Sunday morning at 6.40 am.

Cricketer Sachin, accompanied by his wife, visited the Sai Kulwant Hall in Puttaparthi where the body was kept for the public to pay their last respects. The country's prime minister Manmohan Singh is reported to be visiting the temple town on Tuesday.

The body will be buried on Wednesday, said the Sathya Sai Baba Trust, which oversees the 400-billion rupees worth assets and welfare programs including schools and colleges in more than 144 countries around the world.