Puttaparthi:
Several followers of Sathya Sai Baba held protests in Puttaparthi today over reports of alleged mishandling of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust's money by its members.
"We have lost trust in the trust members and want them to quit. We want the donations to be put to good use," said one of the protesting devotees. They are demanding an inquiry into the functioning of the trust.
On June 17, close to Rs 11.56 crore in cash were found in Yajur Mandir, which was Sai Baba's private chamber at his ashram. 98 kilos of gold and 307 kilos of silver were also found. At that time, trustees said the cash was being counted in the presence of income tax officials and was being deposited in the State Bank of India.
Two days later on June 19, police in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district seized Rs 35.5 lakh from a car belonging to the trust and arrested the driver of the vehicle Harishnanda Shetty. A trust official V Srinivasan was believed to have given him the money. This led to allegations that the trust money was being removed from the ashram premises. Sai Baba's nephew RJ Ratnakar, who is also a member of the trust, was questioned by the Andhra Pradesh police today in connection with this seizure. Police is also interrogating V Srinivasan.
The trust enjoys several exemptions from the state government and there are now demands that the government must withdraw those privileges and intervene on behalf of the devotees.
Earlier this week, Sai Baba's grand-niece Chetna Raju claimed that there was a threat to her life as she is questioning the actions of those managing the trust.
"Since the person caught claims that the money was given by a trust member, V Srinivasan, we are demanding that there should be a proper inquiry into all this," Chetna told NDTV.
The spiritual and religious guru of millions died on April 24.