More secrets tumble out of Prashanthi Nilayam

The discovery, which came in sharp contrast to the claims of Trustee V Srinivasan and Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust that there is no more “hidden” property inside the ashram, will not be the last one, Anantapur Joint Collector Anita Ramachandran told Deccan Herald.
The trust had been maintaining that the over Rs 11 crore in cash, 98 kg gold and huge quantities of silver and diamonds found in Yajur Mandir on June 16, was probably the last of such undisclosed property.

Sources in Prashanti Nilayam said: “It seems like there is more that is worth in the ashram and that was the reason the trust requested the AP government to send its representative for the inventory on Friday.”

Speaking from Anantapur, Anita said the team was left wanting for time on Saturday and that there are sarees, watches, cheques, envelops and cash which were found, the inventory of which will be conducted after July 16.

Also, she said that there are more places, including the building opposite Yajur Mandir, that is to be inspected. “A lot of donations have been kept in different places in the ashram by Baba and we need to check what else can be found,” she said.
Among the places that will be inspected will be rooms that Baba lived in before the construction of Yajur Mandir.

The trust wants the inventory to be conducted after July 16 (Guru Pournima), for reasons best known to it. “This is not an inspection or investigation carried out by the government, I was present there as the trust had requested the government to depute one of its representatives,” she pointed out.

It is noteworthy that the trust had not involved any government official during the inventory conducted in June, which gave rise to lot of speculation that there could be more “hidden secrets” in the personal chambers of Sai Baba and that the trust wanted to siphon off the same.

And the trust’s worst fears, given that it is already embroiled in controversies, came true with Saturday’s finding. Even on June 28, representatives of the trust, referring to the June 16 inventory had said: “We had had informal discussions with some of the top government officials and they had asked us to go ahead with the inventory by ourselves.”

This had been heavily criticised by a section of the devotees, but had failed to bring about desired responses from the trust.

But the trust’s attempts to clear the air on the alleged irregularities associated with it - which is becoming strong post government intervention-fearing a possible takeover has changed the scenario. The government is yet to take a decision on it.

The trust meanwhile, voluntarily requested the government to depute its representatives for the latest inventory and is also willing to go in for more inventories, in contrast to its stand that there might not be any more after June 16.