Sarat Patra, once a close aide of self-proclaimed godman Sarathi Baba alias Santosh Raul, on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here and said the controversial godman was under protection of politicians, including Ministers and MlAs, and other influential persons.
“He (Sarathi) is a fraud. I have revealed to the ED officials all I know about sources of the huge inflow of funds to his Satyam Charitable Trust and their utilisation,” said Patra after emerging out of the ED office here after a marathon interrogation.
Patra said he had given names of those who were managing the financial transactions to the ED.
“Truth must come out. I was no way linked to financial transactions of the Ashram. I had extended some help for construction of the temple which was totally built on donated construction materials,” he said, adding that though a huge amount of fund was arranged for the temple construction, yet that had not been utilised.
Notably, Patra, a teacher by profession was arrested by the Crime Branch on August 28, 2015, on the basis of the statement of a woman victim of Sarathi. Patra was working as a Mathematics teacher at the Mahanga Birbhadreswar High School.
Notably, the ED had already quizzed the godman’s son Satyam, brother Debendra Roul and a group of his close aides.