The BBC and the 1993 murders

From the BBC’s documentary on Sathya Sai Baba – ‘The Secret Swami’ on the infamous 1993 murders in his bedroom:-

Tanya Datta: Sex abuse is not the only controversy tainting the God man’s reputation. On a June night back in nineteen ninety-three, four devotees broke into Sai Babas quarters. They were armed with knives. Their motives are unclear. All four were close to Sai Baba. Some say they wanted to warn him about corruption in the Ashram. Others claim their intention was to kidnap or even kill Sai Baba. As they approached they were stopped by four of Sai Baba’s attendants.

Mr. V. P. Nair, former Home Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh government

In the struggle that followed two of his attendants were killed and the other two badly injured. Hearing the commotion Sai Baba escaped through a back stairway and raised the alarm. Heavily armed police arrived on the scene.

Transcript of the BBC’s interview with V.P.B. Nair, Home Secretary of Andhra Pradesh in 1993 at the time of the murders in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom, whose position gave him insight into the entire known case:-

VPB Nair: So these boys, they ran and locked themselves up in a room. And then in the whole, all around a lot of pandemonium and people gathered so the boys were shivering like rats in that small hole.
Tanya Datta: The four men barricaded themselves into Sai Baba’s bedroom. There was a stand-off with the police. Then the order was given to go in. What happened next is hotly disputed. The official version seemed clear.
VPB Nair: These four boys charged towards the police with the knives and started stabbing the inspector and other personnel. Because they were attacked they opened fire.
Tanya Datta: In self-defence?
VPB Nair:In self-defence. They opened fire and killed all the four boys. This the police story.
Tanya Datta: Velayudhan Nair rejects the police version of events. He should know. Until two thousand and two he was Home Secretary of Andhra Pradesh and in charge of the state police. On coming to office he examined the files and found that the original police report was riddled with lies and inconsistencies. This was later exposed by a CID investigation.
VPB Nair: Two or three daggers cannot be a match to roaring guns. So this story of the police being attacked and the police shooting in self-defence is totally baseless.
Tanya Datta: So are you suggesting that the police executed the boys that night?
VPB Nair: In absolute… this is absolute cold-blooded murder.
Tanya Datta: Some police officers were arrested but never charged. The case was eventually dropped. Sai Baba has always had a close relationship with the police. Even today, senior officers are special guests at the Ashram. With friends in such high places Sai Baba seems to be untouchable. Any attempt to investigate the goings-on at his Ashram even, murder, appear doomed to failure. Critics say police connections ensured that Sai Baba wasn’t even interviewed, despite being one of the witnesses to the events of that night.

Transcript of interview with Basava Premanand – Rationalist & Author:
Basava Premanand: The only person who was a witness to the murders of mysterious deaths, that was Sai Baba and he was not examined as, for evidence at all and those students also who were there, two or three students they were not examined at all.
Tanya Datta: Why do you think that the nineteen ninety-three murders weren’t properly investigated?
Basava Premanand: The central government stopped the investigation because if the investigation takes place, a lot of things will come out. One thing. Economic offences, sex offences, all these things will come out.
Tanya Datta: Shocked at what he considers a travesty of justice, the former Home Secretary is now seeking to reopen the case.
VPB Nair The killing of the boys was only to buy silence. If the boys are taken to the court of law, if they were arrested and taken to the court of law, they would have stated several things including why did they want to meet Baba. (See also The Sathya Sai Baba bedroom Murders)

Further resources on the BBC documentary and the murders documentation are found here