TRUSTEES of the enormous wealth left by a recently deceased Indian guru offered today to pay tax on the vast piles of cash and gold discovered in his private chambers.
Sathya Sai Baba died on April 24 and was interred at his ashram in Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh.
Trust members found 98 kg (215.6 pounds) of gold, 307 kg of silver and Rs115m ($2.55m/£1.41m) in cash afterwards in his private quarters. The treasure was recorded in the presence of two retired judges.
The rooms had been kept shut from March 28 when Sai Baba, who had ashrams in 126 countries, was hospitalised and were reopened on June 16.
The Sathya Sai Trust, which manages his vast empire spanning hospitals and spiritual retreats, said it had not previously been aware of the undisclosed riches and has deposited them with a bank.
“As soon an inventory was taken, the money was deposited with the State Bank of India,” trust member V Srinivasan told a news conference in Puttaparthi.
“Even without a demand we paid Rs97 million as income tax and the balance if any will be paid after the valuation of the gold, jewellery etc,” Srinivasan said.
“We had no knowledge about the money, it was given to him (and) Bhagwan Sai Baba kept it for public use,” he said.
“He was an embodiment of simplicity and did not even have a bank account of his own. He never kept anything for himself,” the member said.
The charity, previously criticised for its secrecy and opaque management of an empire thought to be worth billions of dollars, said it would cooperate with the government in any probe.
“If an enquiry comes from the government then we will promptly attend to it and if the government wants to monitor us, we have no problem,” Srinivasan said, replying to questions on the trust’s functioning.
He also brushed off the seizure by state police of a private vehicle transporting Rs3.5m from Sai Baba's ashram to nearby Bangalore on June 18.
He said the confiscated cash came from devotees who had donated it to build a mausoleum for Sai Baba, and it had been given to consultants who were going to run the project.
“The samadhi (mausoleum) is not being built by the Trust as it cannot do religious activity because it is a public charity trust,” Srinivasan said.
The future of the fabulously wealthy organisation is uncertain and some observers predict a power struggle among the guru’s closest aides and trust members.
