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Updated October 17th, 2019 at 22:18 IST

Rs 35 cr unaccounted cash recovered from self-styled godman

Income tax sleuths have recovered Rs 35 crore of unaccounted cash after raiding over 40 properties of Kalki Bhagwan, a 70-year-old self-styled spiritual guru.

Reported by: Krishna Murthy
Income tax
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Income tax sleuths have recovered Rs 35 crore of unaccounted cash after raiding over 40 properties of Kalki Bhagwan, a 70-year-old self-styled spiritual guru. IT officials from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh began their raids on Wednesday and are carrying out searches in Chennai, Hyderabad and the "world headquarters of the Kalki movement”, Golden City, at Varadaiahpalem in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

According to IT officials, of the Rs 35 crore, nearly Rs 10 crore worth foreign cash was seized. Most of the foreign currency was is US dollars, which were received in the form of donations. Incriminating land documents were also confiscated from the Kalki Bhagavan temple built on the grounds of the Oneness University campus of Kalki’s ashram in Chittoor. While the IT officials are still carrying out searches, sources indicate the godman is reportedly unwell. Meanwhile, his wife Padmavathi Devi, his son Krishna Nemam Kurral Vijay Kumar and daughter-in-law Pritha are being interrogated by the department.

The raids

The raids were conducted based on an intelligence tip-off of  Krishna's heavy investments in various ventures where financial misappropriation was suspected. In Hyderabad, raids were conducted in Studio N, a news channel owned by Kalki Trust along with WL Structure Private Limited, a company owned by Krishna. The properties of one of their associate Pusapati Ramachandra Raju were also searched. However, sleuths did not find unaccounted cash or documents in the properties owned by the family in Hyderabad.

Read: Congress delegation meets EC over 'I-T' raids on Congress staff

About Kalki Bhagwan

Born as Vijayakumar Naidu in 1949, Kalki Bhagwan started out as a clerk with the Life Insurance Corporation of India. It is said that Naidu and his friend started a residential school called Jeevashram in Chittoor in 1984 to provide “alternative education and inculcate spiritualism” to the young. Many who attended Jeevashram claimed to have seen Naidu as Kalki, the tenth avatar of Lord Vishnu, which is how his journey as a guru began. He this renamed himself as Kalki. He amassed a cult following by claiming to have supernatural powers and promising 'nirvana' or enlightenment.

Read: Siddhartha Medical College raided by IT on second consecutive day

The Kalki trust received a flood of donations, especially from NRIs since the spiritual leader’s movement grew exceedingly popular. The Kalki Bhagwan has drawn massive following from India and abroad including celebrities. However, the locals feel that the self-styled godman allegedly indulged in land grabbing and did not keep up his grand promises of developing the Chittoor region, which were made while his ashram was being set up.

Read: Mini-Budget after Budget: Government slashes corporate tax rates

Read: G Parameshwara's confidante found hanging

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Published October 17th, 2019 at 21:57 IST

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