The Bombay high court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Pune police for its delay in investigating the complaint alleging that the signature of the Osho guru Rajneesh — who died in 1990 — in his w
The Bombay high court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Pune police for its delay in investigating the complaint alleging that the signature of the Osho guru Rajneesh — who died in 1990 — in his will was forged. The complaint was filed by one of Osho’s disciples Yogesh Thakkar with the Koregaon Park police in 2013. However, given the police’s lackadaisical approach in the case, Mr Thakkar filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court around two months ago. Directing the deputy commissioner of police of the zone concerned to supervise the case, the division bench of Justice Naresh H. Patil and Justice Prakash Deu Naik on Wednesday also asked its investigating officer to appear before it for the next hearing on August 12.
When the hearing began, the public prosecutor informed the bench that the will in dispute was sent to handwriting experts for verification in 2014 and that despite three reminders, no report was received. The bench slammed the police for its lackadaisical probe and sought to know the progress it made in the case in the last two years.
Mr Thakkar, who claims to be a follower of the spiritual guru since 1979, in his PIL has accused six trustees of Osho International Foundation of forging Osho’s signature in the will in order to acquire rights over his intellectual properties worth millions. He further alleged that the trustees transferred money from the trust to private companies owned by them. Along with his petition, Mr Thakkar has also annexed copies of certificates from experts from India and abroad, who claim the will was forged and fake.
Mr Thakkar also claimed in his petition that a complaint in this regard was filed by the Koregaon Park police in 2013 only after he had written a letter to the commissioner of police, Pune, in 2012. However, as the police failed to take any action for three years, he was compelled to move the high court seeking the transfer of the case to the CBI.
Born as Chandra Mohan Jain in a small village in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district, guru Osho went on to become famous as a great public speaker and spiritual teacher. His open views on sexuality made him a controversial figure. Osho died on January 19, 1990, in his Pune-based ashram.
