PUTTAPARTHI, july 3 (Agencies): Skeletons continued to tumble out of Prashanti Nilayam with the Anantapur district authorities on Saturday seizing gold, silver, diamond ornaments worth Rs 76.89 lakh from Yajur Mandir, the abode of Satya Sai Baba who passed away on April 24 this year. Anantapur joint collector Anita Ramachandran told TOI that the precious metals and other items were seized during an inspection carried out by a team of district officials headed by her on Saturday. The inspection began in the morning and continued till the evening. “I inspected four rooms in Yajur Mandir except the Babas room from which the inventory of the items and cash lying there has already been made. In these four rooms, I found large number of silverware, gold ornaments, a diamond ring, costly watches, silk robes of the Baba, silk sarees and pens,” Ramachandran said.
In all, the seizure of the precious metals included 116 kg of silver in the form of ornaments, utensils, etc, worth Rs 56 lakh, 906 grams of gold, mostly in the form of mangalsutras, worth Rs 15 lakh, and a diamond ring wor th Rs 3 lakh. “We have not valued the other items,” the joint collector said and added that all the items were in the safe custody of the district authorities. The total value of the precious metals was estimated at Rs 76.89 lakh. Saturday’s seizure heightens the controversy already surrounding the working of the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust that has come to the limelight after Sai Baba was taken ill in the last week of March and his demise on April 24 this year. “If the working of the trust is above board, as its members are repeatedly claiming, why did not the gold and silver items surface in the inventory of Yajur Mandir that the trust members carried out recently,” questioned district officials.
Locals are now wondering whether this is the last of the hidden items inside Prashanti Nilayam or whether there is more to come. “The stuff that is being unearthed from Prashanti Nilayam and Yajur Mandir makes one wonder whether the rumours of tonnes of gold and silver being stashed inside are true,” said Shivdas, a local trader.
It was only last week that the trust members including V Srinivasan had announced at a press conference that everything was hunky dory in the working of the trust. This, a few days after the Anantapur police seized a vehicle carrying Rs 35.5 lakh cash that was on its way from Puttaparthi to Bangalore. After denying that the trust was in no way connected with the cash, Srinivasan later admitted that the cash was given to trust member J R Rathnakar by some devotees who wanted to build a ‘mahasamadhi’ for Sai Baba and that the same was on its way to Bangalore to be given to a company that undertakes such work for the trust on a honorary basis. Anantapur district authorities said they would hold talks with the trust members on Sunday and seek an explanation as to how these items seized on Saturday did not figure in the last inventory of the Yajur Mandir undertaken a few days ago.
In all, the seizure of the precious metals included 116 kg of silver in the form of ornaments, utensils, etc, worth Rs 56 lakh, 906 grams of gold, mostly in the form of mangalsutras, worth Rs 15 lakh, and a diamond ring wor th Rs 3 lakh. “We have not valued the other items,” the joint collector said and added that all the items were in the safe custody of the district authorities. The total value of the precious metals was estimated at Rs 76.89 lakh. Saturday’s seizure heightens the controversy already surrounding the working of the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust that has come to the limelight after Sai Baba was taken ill in the last week of March and his demise on April 24 this year. “If the working of the trust is above board, as its members are repeatedly claiming, why did not the gold and silver items surface in the inventory of Yajur Mandir that the trust members carried out recently,” questioned district officials.
Locals are now wondering whether this is the last of the hidden items inside Prashanti Nilayam or whether there is more to come. “The stuff that is being unearthed from Prashanti Nilayam and Yajur Mandir makes one wonder whether the rumours of tonnes of gold and silver being stashed inside are true,” said Shivdas, a local trader.
It was only last week that the trust members including V Srinivasan had announced at a press conference that everything was hunky dory in the working of the trust. This, a few days after the Anantapur police seized a vehicle carrying Rs 35.5 lakh cash that was on its way from Puttaparthi to Bangalore. After denying that the trust was in no way connected with the cash, Srinivasan later admitted that the cash was given to trust member J R Rathnakar by some devotees who wanted to build a ‘mahasamadhi’ for Sai Baba and that the same was on its way to Bangalore to be given to a company that undertakes such work for the trust on a honorary basis. Anantapur district authorities said they would hold talks with the trust members on Sunday and seek an explanation as to how these items seized on Saturday did not figure in the last inventory of the Yajur Mandir undertaken a few days ago.
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