The head of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, the apex body of the Hindu Sadhus, Narendra Giri who had been instrumental in releasing lists of ‘fake saints’ has now himself got embroiled in a property- related forgery case as a Sadhu based in Haridwar has registered a case against him and some others.
Police said that a case has been registered on Tuesday at Jwalapur police station by Ramanand Puri who was once considered to be close to Giri. While talking to The Pioneer, Jwalapur police station in-charge Amarjeet Singh said that as per the complaint lodged by Puri, Giri and some others had forged his signature in taking over the control of Ramanand Institute of Technology founded by him. The others named in the complaint include Radheyshyam and Mahant Dharmraj Bharti, he added.
Notably, Puri who was also the secretary of Niranjani Akhada had already registered a case against the former Congress legislator from Delhi Surendra Kumar and Deepak Kumar who was once a close aide of Puri.
It is learnt that Puri as the secretary of Niranjani Akhada had started Ramanand Institute of Technology at Jwalapur on the land owned by the Akhada on the Delhi-Haridwar National Highway. After a dispute had arisen among the members of the Akhada, Narendra Giri had removed Puri from the post of the secretary of the Akhada, alleging that he was being misled by some people with vested interests. The removal had triggered a war of words between two groups loyal to Giri and Puri.
Meanwhile, Giri said that he is ready to face any probe. “Police are free to take action against me on the basis of the case registered. But the probe must be fair and police must act as per the rules,” he said.