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Saffron terror suspect, rapists find place on seer’s list of 14 'fake babas'

coastaldigest.com news network
September 11, 2017

Allahabad, Sept 11:  Irked by recent controversies surrounding self-styled godmen, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the top body of Hindu sadhus, today released a list of 14 "fake babas" and demanded a crackdown on "rootless cult leaders" by bringing in a legislation.

Giving out the list, which includes names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, the parishad's president Swami Narendra Giri said, "We appeal to even the common people to beware of such charlatans who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis."

The parishad is a council of akharas, which are monastic orders drawing their spiritual lineage from 8th-century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma. The development comes close on the heels of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Haryana sentencing Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim to 20 years in prison for the rape of two of his former disciples.

Large-scale violence took place in various parts of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan following his conviction by the court in the two cases.

Forty-one people were killed in Haryana in the clashes. However, no death was reported from Punjab and Rajasthan. While Asaram is in jail in connection with a sexual assault case, his son Narayan Sai, also booked in a similar case, is out on bail.

Rampal is behind bars, facing trial in a number of cases relating to violence.

"We are going to send copies of this list to the Centre, the state governments as well as all the opposition parties with the demand that a strong legislation be brought to check the activities of these self-styled cult leaders," Giri told reporters here. 

He also claimed that he had yesterday received a phone call from a person claiming to be a devotee of Asaram, who "threatened to kill me if a mention was made of his guru in the list of fake babas we planned to bring out today".

"An FIR has been lodged at the Daryaganj police station in the city, based on a complaint of Giri. The matter is being investigated," Senior Superintendent of Police of Allahabad Anand Kulkarni said.

Here are the 14 fake babas on the parishad’s list:

Asaram Bapu (Asumal Sirumalani)

The 76-year-old white-bearded man was arrested in 2013 after a teenage devotee accused him of raping her at a religious event. Another female follower later also accused him of rape. He has been in jail since 2013 on charges of rape and criminal intimidation. Yet Asaram continues to have thousands of supporters flock to court when he appears for hearings.

Several local newspapers have reported on the mysterious killings of three witnesses in the criminal cases he faces.

Radhe Maa (Sukhwinder Kaur)

A Punjab resident, Sukhwinder Kaur later changed her name to Radhe Maa and moved to Mumbai. She hosts regular religious events at her Radhe Maa Bhawan located in Boriwali. The Punjab and Haryana high court recently issued a notice against a police official asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for failing to act on a complaint against Kaur.

A Phagwara-based man had lodged a complaint against her, seeking registration of a case in 2015 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, threatening and other offences under the IPC.

Last year, Mumbai resident Niki Gupta filed a complaint, accusing Kaur of instigating her in-laws against her for dowry.

Sachchidanand Giri (Sachin Datta)

He is called ‘Builder Baba’ by many. Sachin Dutta alias Sachidanand Giri had been declared a proclaimed offender in a case registered with the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police and was later arrested from his house in Lucknow.

In 2015, a case of fraud had been registered at Sector 58, Noida against Dutta and seven others for allegedly mortgaging sold flats in an Indirapuram housing society to obtain bank loans. The case was subsequently transferred to the Indirapuram police station and the accused declared a proclaimed offender.

Gurmeet Singh

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh, known as the guru of bling for the bejeweled costumes he wears in self-produced films, was recently sentenced to 20 years’ jail after being convicted of raping two female followers. Hundreds of his followers went on the rampage when he was convicted, attacking train stations, buses and television vans.

Secret tunnels, including one which linked the jailed sect chief plush residence with female disciples’ hostel, an empty box of AK-47 cartridges, an illegal firecracker factory were among the detections made during a search at his sect headquarters.

Swami Omji (Vinodanand Jha)

In November 2008, an FIR was registered against Vinodanand Jha aka Swami Omji on a complaint by his younger brother Pramodh Jha, who accused him of breaking the lock of his bicycle shop in Lodhi Colony along with three men and stealing 11 bicycles, expensive spare parts, sale deed of the house and important documents.

The self-proclaimed godman also faces charges under the Arms Act, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act in other matters.

Nirmal Baba (Nirmaljeet Singh)

Nirmaljeet Singh Narula, better known as Nirmal Baba, has appeared on television as part of his show, ‘Third Eye of Nirmal Baba’. This Jharkhand-raised self-styled godman shot to fame through the controversy surrounding the donations and the charging of admission fees (Rs. 2,000 per person) to his ‘darbar’ sessions. He is estimated to be worth hundreds of crores and has a huge following despite dispensing advice bordering on the absurd. He even has an app on Facebook called ‘Live Darshan 24/7’. A polarising figure, Nirmal Baba has ardent devotees and vocal doubters.

Ichchadhari Bhimanand (Shivmurti Dwivedi)

Shivmurti Dwivedi was arrested in 2010 for allegedly running a sex racket. Dwivedi, alias Icchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot, was booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. “He has political ambitions. He did not want to join politics now but was gaining ground steadily. He wanted to use his followers as his vote bank,” a senior police officer had said after his arrest.

Swami Aseemanand

Swami Aseemanand is a Hindutva (saffron) activist, who is accused of planning 2007 Ajmer sharif dargah blast and Mecca Masjid blasts as well as the 2006 Malegaon blasts and the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Aseemanand on 19 November 2010 for his involvement in the Mecca Masjid bombing. On 24 December 2010, he was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Swami Assemanand was acquitted in 2007 Ajmer sharif dargah blast case by NIA court on 8 March 2017.

Aseemanand confessed to the alleged acts before the Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Dabas at Tis Hazari courts on 18 December 2010. He stated that he and other Hindutva activists were involved in bombings at various Muslim religious places as they wanted to answer every Islamist terrorist act with “a bomb for bomb’’ policy. His confession, recorded in Hindi, has been reported in Tehelka news magazine issue dated 15 January 2011, “In the Words of a Zealot.’’ However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand stated that he had been pressurized by the investigating agencies to confess that he was behind these blasts.

In February 2014, a controversy erupted over interviews given by Swami Aseemanand to a magazine called The Caravan, in which he alleged that some of the worst terror attacks in India were sanctioned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, and its then General Secretary Mohan Bhagwat. Although Aseemanand subsequently denied making such allegations, the magazine released audio tapes of the interviews which included the Swami's stunning allegations.

Narayan Sai

Asaram’s son Narayan Sai is in jail for allegedly raping a Surat-based woman disciple of his father between 2002 and 2005. She was allegedly raped when she was living at Asaram’s ashram in Surat. Sai, 40, is also accused of having physical relations with eight other girls.

Rampal

In November 2014, five bodies were discovered by the police after they stormed the ashram of a self-styled godman, Rampal, in Haryana’s Hisar. Another of the man’s followers died in hospital. The police were seeking Rampal’s arrest after he refused court orders to appear to answer charges including conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court.

Rampal considers himself an incarnation of the 15th-century poet Kabir.

The ashram was guarded by hundreds of followers for several days. Police fired water cannon and lathi-charged the supporters who were armed with stones, petrol bombs among other weapons.

Some followers later came out of the ashram, saying they had been held at the ashram against their will.

Acharya Kushmuni

Acharya Kushmuni Swarup is national spokesperson Akhil Bhartiya Dandi Sanyasi Prabudh Samiti. After the list of fake babas, Kushmuni alleged most of the people in the akhada had criminal cases against them. He has in the past called for fake babas to be reprimanded.

Brahaspati Giri

Giri allegedly tried to gain control of temples of Alkhnath Trust in Uttar Pradesh.

The other two babas on the list are Om Namah Shivay Baba and Malkhan Singh.

Comments

OPen Heart
 - 
Sunday, 17 Sep 2017

Worship the CREATOR not his Creation... There is no God but ALLAH and Muhammad pbuh is the final messenger of ALLAH who conveyed the message of one God (who has no image, pic statue etc.) who is worthy of worship. Vedas also call us to the same God who has no image.... NA TASYA PRATIMA ASTI (There is no image of God) .

 

When U worship one God, U will never need such babas to give you blessing. Look for the CREATOR who created U, me and all that exists ... U will be successful. Those who are honest in looking for the CREATOR who is worthy of worship will find him.

 

Well Wisher
 - 
Tuesday, 12 Sep 2017

As a part of cleanup fake babas, we also request the government to take a necessary step to clean up muslim community from babas and fake tangals routing to Kerala.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 4,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 4: The Kasaragod district administration has decided to restore the e-pass system for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru amid covid-19 crisis. 

As covid-19 cases began to increase in Dakshina Kannada, the Kasargod district administration had unilaterally newly introduced of daily pass system on July 6 for entry and exit from Talapady border. This had inconvenienced hundreds of employees, who visited Mangaluru daily to eke a living. 

The decision to resume the pass system was taken in a video conference of Kerala Revenue Minister Chandrasekharan with officials and elected representatives on August 3.

The minister said the Kasaragod district administration will resume issuing of passes for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru. But they should undergo rapid antigen test for every week to renew their passes.

"Similarly, one-time interstate passes will be issued for those who want to take part in marriages, funeral and other functions in both states. Even they should undergo antigen test after returning from the functions,” the minister added.

As per the previous order, daily commuters, especially employees, had to stay in Mangaluru for 28 days before returning to Kasargod. Later, Kerala government relaxed rules on July 23 allowing only bank employees from Kasaragod to travel daily in their private vehicles to their workplace in Dakshina Kannada.

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News Network
May 28,2020

May 28: Abdul Kareem was forced out of school and into a life of odd jobs like repairing bicycles before he finally managed to pull his family out of abject poverty transporting goods across Delhi in a mini truck.

The job, and the slim financial security that came with it, was the first stepping stone to a better life.

All that is now gone as India reels under the economic impact of its protracted coronavirus lockdown. Mr Kareem's out of a job and stranded in his village in Uttar Pradesh with his wife and two children. Their minuscule savings from his Rs 9,000 a month job have been exhausted, and the money he saved for books and school uniforms is spent.

"I don't know what the job situation will be in Delhi once we go back," Mr Kareem said. "We can't stay hungry so I will do whatever I find."

At least 49 million people across the world are expected to plunge into "extreme poverty" -- those living on less than $1.90 per day -- as a direct result of the pandemic's economic destruction and India leads that projection, with the World Bank estimating some 12 million of its citizens will be pushed to the very margins this year.

Some 122 million Indians were forced out of jobs last month alone, according to estimates from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private sector think tank. Daily wage workers and those employed by small businesses have taken the worst hit. These include hawkers, roadside vendors, workers employed in the construction industry and many who eke out a living by pushing handcarts and rickshaws.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in 2014 promising to lift the poorest citizens out of poverty, the fallout from the lockdown brings with it significant political risk. He won an even larger second term majority last year on the strength of his government's popular social programs that directly targeted the poor, such as the provision of cooking gas cylinders, power and public housing. The breadth and depth of this renewed economic pain will only increase the pressure on his government as it works to steer the country's economy back on track.

"Much of the Indian government's efforts to mitigate poverty over the years could be negated in a matter of just a few months," said Ashwajit Singh, managing director of IPE Global, a development sector consultancy that advises several multinational aid agencies. Noting that he did not expect unemployment rates to improve this year, Singh said: "More people could die from hunger than the virus."

Desperate Times

Mr Singh points to a United Nations University study estimating 104 million Indians could fall below the World Bank-determined poverty line of $3.2 a day for lower-middle-income countries. This will take the proportion of people living in poverty from 60% -- or 812 million currently, to 68% or 920 million -- a situation last seen in the country more than a decade ago, he said.

A World Bank report found the country had been making significant progress and was close to losing its status as the country with the most poor citizens. The impact of PM Modi's lockdown risks reversing those gains.

The World Bank and the CMIE estimates were published in late April and early May respectively. Since then the situation has only become grimmer, with harrowing images of people making desperate attempts to reach their villages, on crowded buses, the flatbeds of trucks and even on foot or on bicycles dominating media coverage.

The Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business analyzed the unemployment data from the CMIE, collected through surveys covering about 5,800 homes across 27 states in April.

Researchers found rural areas were the hardest hit, and the economic misery was the result of the lockdown, rather than the spread of infections in the hinterland. More than 80% of households had experienced a drop income and many won't survive much longer without aid, they wrote in a report.

The government has promised cheap credit to farmers, direct transfer of money to the poor and eased access to food security programs -- but these help people who have some documentation, which many of the poorest don't. With millions of impoverished people now in transit across the country, the food security situation is dire -- news reports are emerging of people foraging through piles of rotting fruit or eating leaves.

Shattered Economy

The economy was already growing at its slowest pace in over a decade when the virus struck. The lockdown, which came into effect on March 25, has hammered it, stalling business activity and putting a lid on consumption, pushing the economy to what may be its first full-year contraction in more than four decades.

It's dire enough to warrant the country exiting its lockdown, as it has been doing incrementally since May 4, even as its infections are surging. India is now Asia's virus hotspot with infections crossing 151,000 according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

PM Modi, who has come under criticism for the pain inflicted on the poor, has said his government will spend $265 billion or about 10% of its GDP to help Asia's third-largest economy weather the pandemic's fallout. But experts say only a part of it is direct fiscal stimulus, and probably smaller than the total damage done to the economy during the lockdown period.

"What is especially worrying is the government's response," said Reetika Khera, an economics professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. "The epidemic will magnify existing -- and already high -- inequalities in India."

Still, the economic measures aren't going to kick in for some time and industry will likely struggle to restart because of the flight of labour from industrial hubs.

And as the harsh summer unfolds more pain lies in store in the villages now dealing with returning migrant workers.

"There are no factories or industries here, there are just hills," said Surendra Hadia Damor, who had walked nearly 100 km from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, before a voluntary organisation drove him to his village in the neighboring state of Rajasthan. "We can survive for a month or two and then try and find a job nearby -- we will see what happens."

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News Network
February 5,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 5: Despite installing a BJP government in Karnataka through disguised operation Kamala, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government has continued its step motherly attitude towards this south Indian state.

Under the new formula adopted to share central taxes among states Karnataka will be the worst-affected. Though the 15th Finance Commission has recommended a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for the state for 2020-21, the Centre appears reluctant to pay up and instead has asked for the proposal to be reviewed.

During the Union budget, the report of the 14th Finance Commission headed by NK Singh for 2020-21 was tabled in Lok Sabha. It shows besides Karnataka, Telangana, Mizoram and Kerala saw their central tax share decrease, while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra were top gainers.

Karnataka's share has decreased from 4.7% provided by the previous finance commission, to 3.6%. Acknowledging there is a steep decline in Karnataka's share from 2019-20, the finance commission has recommended a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for the state.

Its share in 2019-20 was Rs 36,675 crore, but under the new formula, Karnataka will get only Rs 31,180 crore in 2020-21 from the divisible pool of Rs 8.5 lakh crore - a decline of 22.5%.

Also, the decrease for Karnataka comes on the back of a shortfall in 2019-20. While the state was entitled to Rs 39,806 crore from the divisible pool, it got only Rs 36,675 crore as the Centre suffered a tax revenue shortfall of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

What is more disheartening though is the Centre's refusal to pay the special grant. Instead, the Union finance ministry has asked the finance commission to reconsider the recommendation. This has prompted the state to take up the issue with the Centre.

"The decline in central taxes devolution comes at a time when the state is going through a tough financial situation. Steps are being taken to ensure Karnataka gets justice," said chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar.

Officials said besides corrective measures for 2020-21, the focus will be on ensuring a fair share in subsequent years. However, Karnataka has little chance of getting its dues as the Centre is known to be prudent when distributing tax proceeds among states.

"The Centre has certain views on devolution. We have done our duty by submitting the interim report. It's up to the states to convince the Centre," said Ravi Kota, joint secretary of 15th Finance Commission.

Under the new formula, the commission changed the weightage for some of the six criteria it considers - population, area, forest cover, income distance, demographic performance and tax effort.

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