Sai Trust in the footsteps of Sathya Sai Baba

The Sathya Sai Central Trust continues in the footsteps of Sathya Sai Baba and those of its own former directors who were either caught in embezzlement (and dismissed by Sai Baba himself, such as Colonel Joga Rao and Head of ashram Narayanen). One of the few former Telugu-speaking volunteers and donors to the Sai Trust, is Srikanth Uppuluri – who also worked for Radio Sai and later saw through the deceptions of entire set-up. He contrasts the love of Sai Baba by countless genuine people with the sheer cynicism (hidden by the cloak of charm and apparent concern) of Sai Baba himself. People were, for him, instruments of ‘His Will’, and there were no lengths to which he would not go to induce people to work for him, his name, fame and fortune, in one way or another. Uppuluri’s blog today shows this with grim clarity (click on image to see blog). Supporting his view that Sai Baba used criminals to forward his ‘Mission’ is the following information I obtained before I was entirely cut off from the Sai movement.

I learned from IAS officer V. Ramnath and V.K. Narasimhan that the man who was chosen as the overall leader of the Water project and its finances, Mr. K. Chackravati (or Charkravathy) had been forced to resign from his post as an Indian Administrative Service official (a government post) in 1981 (i.e. ‘sacked’) and leave the post he had held for 20 years because he was caught out in major embezzlement! He became the registrar of the Institute of Higher Learning and then secretary of the Sathya Sai Central Trust, the fulcrum of Puttaparthi and also took over as head of the Prashanthi Nilayam ashram. He is no doubt rolling in millions. Meanwhile the Rayalaseema Water Project suffered from numerous failings involving embezzlement, unfulfilled but paid contracts and, not least, failure to provide water to most of the villages listed. Now the Sai Trust is trying to re-work that water plan since it has been an abject failure (the ground water level sank drastically even before it was completed. The great all-potent Director of the World must have caused it (note: not Mr. Chackravati).

Sathya Sai Baba occasionally visited infamous villains in their home? One small example: In 1995, Narasimhan told me how SB had some time earlier taken him in the car to visit Mr. Reddy from Madras, an alcohol and crime king. SB received a donation of one crore Rupis from him to the Rayalaseema water project, and announced his name, including those of other criminals in the Hillview Stadium on his 70th birthday (especially Bangarappa, whose name and contribution were also included). Mr. Reddy was shot down in the street and died six weeks later. A high-ranking source in Customs and Excise, Mrs. Dolly Saxena of Delhi, told her circle of friends how she had been harassed by shadowy police sent by top government officials. Her innocent son had been made the victim of terrible abuse of the ashram after the horrendous murders because he had been under the supervision of Vijay Prabhu, the supposed mastermind (though never charged by the authorities). The poor boy was suddenly taken by the police in Puttaparthi, was incarcerated, and had to be treated for the trauma later. Mrs. Saxena examined the Sathya Sai Central Trust’s affairs and discovered several transactions with black money, including from no less a criminal than Dawood Ibrahim, formerly one of India’s biggest mafia bosses, arms and drugs traffickers, who lived in exile in Dubai.