Fearing police action, the five main associates of Sura Baba called ‘Panchasakha’ have gone into hiding ever since the arrest of the self-proclaimed godman and his sons.
These five were involved in the day-to-day working of the ashram trust, be it cash collection from devotees, or arrangements for the Baba’s Rahas leela or land grabbing. Sura Baba has revealed the names of these five associates to the Crime Branch during his interrogation.
The Trahi Achyuta Trust had around 45 members and it was functioning like a corporate office complete with different departments. EverySunday, a meeting was being held in a conference hall on the ground floor of the house where the Baba lives where Sura Baba, flanked by his two sons and close associates, reviewing works of each department.
The trust manages a wide range of services like running buses, hotels and shopping markets in the ashram’s name and the Baba’s so-called red army keeps a watch over everything and ensures smooth operations.
The trust had a yearly budget with money deposited in a bank account situated in the ashram itself from where the Crime Branch recently recovered `67 lakhs in cash.
The Crime Branch is currently trying to trace the whereabouts of these 45 members of the trust.
The crime branch had questioned three trustees on Friday. It is suspected that the long list of trustees includes politicians, bureaucrats and police officials besides Baba’s own men.