SFIO probing complaint against Asaram Bapu, says Pilot

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has received complaints against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu and his son in an alleged 700-acre land grabbing case and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is looking into the matter.

"We have received the written complaint. We have instructed the SFIO to get to the facts. The moment we will receive the final report and if it implicates somebody, then we will take action," Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot told reporters today.

"The moment the investigation will reach the final stage, we will take appropriate action. Law is equal for everybody," Pilot said on the sidelines of a function here.

There have been reports that complaints relate to involvement of Bapu, his son Narayan Sai and some others in an alleged land grab case in Madhya Pradesh.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Asharam Ashram denied any wrongdoing on part of Asaram Bapu or his son and said that baseless allegations are being levelled against them by vested interests.

"We respect law of the land. We will continue to do so. We will cooperate in all the investigations by any of the departments," Dr Sunil Wankhede, spokesperson for Sant Shri Asharam Ashram, told PTI over phone from Mumbai.

"Allegations have been levelled against us from time to time. There are certain vested interests who are working towards harming Guruji's image as he is a world famous personality.

"Since 2008 till today there have been lots of allegations against Ashram but all of them have been found to be baseless," he said.

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