nSearches in multiple premises of firms and trusts founded by spiritual guru 'Kalki' Bhagwan — whose original name is Vijay Kumar Naidu - have led to the detection of undisclosed income of nearly Rs 500 crore including unaccounted cash receipts of about Rs 409 crore.
A total of Rs 43.9 crore in cash and US currency worth Rs 18 crore were seized. The total value of the seizure is about Rs 93 crore, which includes gold and diamonds, a tax department official release said. About 88 kg of undeclared gold jewellery, valued at Rs 26 crore, diamonds amount to 1,271 carats worth about Rs 5 crore, have also been seized.
The raids were conducted after a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau that Kalki's son Krishna is suspected to have made huge investments in several ventures of his associates including real estate with the use of illegal finance.
Besides the sprawling headquarters of Kalki Bhagwan near Chittoor bordering Tamil Nadu, searches were also on at 20 places in Chennai and other premises in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Around 300 personnel of Income Tax (IT) department are involved in the searches which commenced early on Wednesday morning continued through Thursday and are expected to last till Friday, officials familiar with the development maintained. According to IT officials, besides cash, IT officers also seized incriminating documents about shady investments and purchase of vast tracts of land in Tamil Nadu and even in Kenya in violation of rules.
During IT raids, it was found that Krishna also runs a few construction firms in the name of While Lotus, Golden Lotus, Blue Water and Dream View among others. Krishna, resides in Chennai, is said to have invested heavily in the business ventures of his associates, which too have come under the scanner. According to sources, nearly 20 of Krishna's business associates are under investigation.
The 70-year-old Naidu started his career in 1971 as a clerk at Life Insurance of India and then joined J Krishnamurthy Foundation during the '80s. But he was expelled from the foundation and later set up his own trust.
He had gone into hiding following a business failure in 1989 and later emerged as Lord Vishnu's 10th avatar 'Kalki' in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. He also claimed that his wife was the incarnation of the lord's consort. He got name and fame after many top brass politicians, industrialists and celebrities started coming to his ashram. The Chittoor ashram also hit the headlines in 2008 when five people died and many were injured in a stampede.
At the ashram, an ordinary darshan of the couple is priced at Rs 5000 and special darshan at Rs 50000. Similarly, the meditation classes offered at Oneness Temple starts from Rs 50,000 onwards and these sessions attract a huge number of foreigners.
During the late '90s, the self-proclaimed spiritual leader set up a campus in Chennai called Somamangalam, and also started 'Oneness University' in Chennai's Varadaiahpalem.