Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 3:

The self-proclaimed incarnation of Lord Krishna--Surendranath Mishra alias Sura Baba—satisfied his lecherous desires by trapping young women to enact Rahas Leela in a specially designed room at his Trahi Achyuta ashram on the outskirts of the Odisha capital, revealed a former employee of the ashram on condition of anonymity.

The woman in the circle is the elusive Sana Maa The woman in the circle is the elusive Sana Maa

If revelations made by the man are anything to go by, Sana Maa was the chief of the much talked-about ‘Night College’ and reigned supreme over the affairs of the ashram.

Sura Baba apparently won the confidence of Sana Maa by convincing her that she was the wife of the Baba in previous birth. The beleaguered Baba even accorded her the status of second wife at the ashram to cohabit with her too.

With the presiding deity of the ashram himself giving her an exalted position, Sana Maa alias Mamata Rath, who hails from Ganjam, did not take long to emerge as the power centre in the ashram.

“Sana Maa was the director of the ‘Night College’. She played a pivotal role in instigating young girls facing difficulty in getting married and newly wed women to participate in Rahas Leela. Sana Maa used to execute her nefarious plans with the assistance of five women inmates of the ashram. Among them: Sania, Kalyani Ghadai, Laxmi, Mama and a male inmate Prafulla Pradhan were the key aides of her,” he revealed.

Interestingly, a Lal Bahini member-- Rama Ballav Nayak-- used to identify prospective women and pass on the list to the headhunters to entice them to enrol themselves in the classes that commenced in the dead of the night. Distressed girls, especially those facing porblems in getting married or conceiving, were their prime targets.

“After being netted by the Baba's loyalists, they were being brainwashed that they were Gopis (a group of cow herding girls famous within Vaishnava Theology for their unconditional devotion (Bhakti) to Lord Krishna) in previous birth. They were being told that they have taken rebirth due to their karma and Sura Baba is the embodiment of Lord Krishna. Once they develop intimacy with Gurudev (Sura Baba), all their obstacles would vanish. Their marriage issues will be sorted out and they would be able to bear child,” the former employee of the ashram narrated.

The participants of the fresh batch for the night escapade were taken to a banana tree in the precincts of the ashram to take bath in aromatic water mixed with turmeric and sandalwood paste. Before being taken to Baba’s room for Rahas Leela, they adorn themselves in the prescribed apparel to charm the pervert Baba.

After entering Baba’s personal room, the women were asked to take bath again in a specially designed open bathroom in dim blue light ostensibly to give an effect of a full moon night. Baba used to enjoy the bathing moments curled up on his bed.

With pictures of vastra haran in Krishna Leela drawn on the walls, the women used to surrender themselves before the controversial godman Sura Baba considering them to be the gopis of Lord Krishna.

Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the all-powerful mysterious woman—Sana Maa—is unknown as it is suspected that she has gone into hiding after the ashram was vandalised by locals and the Baba and his two sons were arrested from there.

A few years ago, a distraught Mamata alias Sana Maa had been to the Trahi Achyuta ashram to know her future as she was worried about her marriage. From the Padmakalpa Malika, generally called pothi, the ashram chief Sura Baba told her that she was his wife in the previous birth. If she marries anybody else in this life, then she would be widowed.

The Baba suggested her to get married to him and lead life as his wife in the ashram. Soon after, the duo exchanged garlands and got married in the ashram. Baba had constructed a house for Sana Maa with all modern amenities. The Baba used to visit her in the afternoon and spend time with her till 9 pm.