Crime Branch to probe charges against Odisha godman

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 6:

With anger against Sarathi Baba after some unsavoury revelations about him in the media spilling over in to the streets across Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today ordered a Crime Branch probe into the controversial godman’s alleged escapade in a Hyderabad-based hotel last month.

In a curt statement making the announcement, the Chief Minister said: “Crime Branch would inquire into the matter.”

Though there is no official word on the terms of reference of the probe, sources said the Crime Branch would inquire into whether the Baba stayed in the Hyderabad hotel at the relevant time and if he did, then who he stayed with. It would also ascertain whether the godman in question was being framed with malicious intention, sources said.

A team headed by an additional Superintendent of Police would visit the godman’s ashram at  Barimula in Kendrapara district and begin its inquiry from there.

Meanwhile, with fresh, damning evidence having been dug out by an enterprising section of the media, the self-styled spiritual guru is finding the ground slipping away from under his feet.

A local TV news channel has now come out with what it says are the travel details of Sarathi Baba in the company of a young woman. Zee Kalinga claimed the two travelled from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad on an Indigo flight on July 2 and even presented the seat numbers on which they travelled.

The sleuths would investigate into these allegations.

Earlier in the day, the woman’s mother told electronic media representatives that her daughter had not accompanied the Baba. While admitting that they are followers of Sarathi Baba, the Mallick family sought police protection fearing for their lives.