Trahi Achyuta ashram chief Sura Baba alias Surendra Mishra, who is in the Crime Branch’s custody now, has a vast empire of spiritual business through several ashrams spread in and outside the country, sources said.
The information came out while the Crime Branch was interrogating Sura Baba and his two sons on Saturday. Reliable sources said the Baba has ashrams in Samastipur and Bhagalpur in Bihar, Kolkata and 24 Praganas in West Bengal and in neighbouring country Nepal.
Official sources said a team of the probe agency went to Mumbai to investigate about the Baba’ ashram located on Mumbai-Ahmadabad Express Highway and is just 10 km from Borivali in Mumbai.
From interrogation it was found that two criminals from Bihar, who were arrested by the Commissionerate Police from Trahi Achyuta Nagar in Jhiinti Sasan a few days ago, had come through the Samastipur ashram in Bihar.
The Crime Branch is in contact with the Bihar police to find out the details about Sura Baba’s ashram and his connection with the two criminals, sources said.
Meanwhile, a team of the Crime Branch, who had visited the main ashram at Jhiinti on the outskirts of the city, traced more than 300 land related documents from the ashram. large amounts of silver items were also found by the team from a locker in laxmi Mandir of the ashram.
In another development, Puri district and forest officials on Saturday sealed the Kalki ashram of Bana Baba located on the Konark-Kakatpur roadside.
It was alleged that Bana Baba had encroached acres of forest and revenue lands and constructed an ashram building over the land.
Earlier, after completion of land demarcation, Sub-Collector Madhusudan Dash had issued notice to Bana Baba asking him to vacate the encroachment within a week.
On Saturday, the last day of the notice, Bana Baba vacated the ashram. Forest Department then raised barbed wire fence around the land.
Nearby villagers who support the Baba have appealed to the administration not to demolish the building and leave it for public use.
In the meanwhile, Bana Baba settled in a thatched house nearby the
ashram where hundreds of his followers were seen camping. “Bana Baba peacefully vacated the ashram and there was no resistance from any quarter during sealing,” Sub-Collector Dash told reporters.