I-T Raids Reveal Gross Fera Violations By Chandraswamy

According to highly placed government sources, large sums of money donated to the Vishwa Dharmayatan Trust was also detected during the raids. Since no satisfactory explanation has been offered for the source of the money, the government is exploring the possibility of attaching the properties in the name of the trust.

A personal diary of the godman, with several notings in his own handwriting, and which discloses the acknowledgement of a receipt of Rs 10 lakh from Vikram Singh, close associate of Chandraswami, was was siezed. The acknowledgement was given by a Sri Lankan citizen.

Documents relating to the purchase of properties worth several crores of rupees, including the sale of 567 bighas of land at Rs 13.5 lakh each at Tughlakabad village, were also seized during the raid. An advance of Rs 35 lakh for this was paid by M/S Neptune Estates of Vikram Singh.

After the I-T department stepped up its efforts to nail the godman, sources say, the assessment of his income and that of the trust has been transferred to the central branch. The chief commissioner of the central branch is the director-general (investigations) of the northern region. Sources said this has been done to ensure better coordination between the assessing and investigating authorities.

Apart from these docuements, the I-T sleuths also seized fixed deposit receipts worth nearly Rs 2.5 crores. The investigating agencies have been reporting the progress made in the probe against the godman to the Supreme Court, which is hearing a public interest litigation which claimed that the government has failed to investigate the properties amassed by Chandraswami.