GM
: “Basava Premanand, author of Murders in Sai Baba’s Bed Room,
speculates and draws conclusions by using newspaper clippings!
Basava
Premanand, India’s leading rationalist and skeptic, irrationally and septically
speculates on what happened on June 6th, 1993”
-
Where did I state that I speculated
and drew conclusions by using newspaper clippings? It is GM’s conclusion.
It is not there in the references on which he has speculated.
-
My writ petition in High Court
etc., was only for a CBI enquiry and not to
a court where I have to present witnesses and prove the case. Murders
are police cases and it is the responsibility of the police to investigate
and arrest the culprits and produce them in the court along with witnesses.
-
Gerald Moreno whom I do not know
did not post to me a copy of his speculations so as to ask me for clarifications
about the case.
-
All the points raised by him are
from the references on which he based his speculations in the above
article.
-
Gerald Moreno did not care to
read my book "Murders in Sai Baba’s Bed Room” wherein all his speculations
would have got answered. He only quoted the articles in the Ex-baba.com
to come to speculations, while my book comes to 912 printed pages and
it is a critical analysis of the records which I could collect including
newspaper clippings.
-
I do not use such demeaning words
as he uses against me. I cannot use them as they are the words used
by godmen and their followers who have no real answers to the questions
I have asked in page, 363 to 403 in Vol II of the book. He has not dared
to answer even one of my questions, nor did he interview the persons
whom he quoted to find out whether they are true or not.
Look
at the box wherein he refers to
“Basava Premanand, India's leading rationalist and
skeptic, irrationally and septically speculates on what happened on
June 6th, 1993”:
I
first thought the word ‘septically’ was a spelling
mistake but before this word he had used the word ‘skeptic’. So it was not
a spelling mistake – I looked to the Readers Digest Universal Dictionary and
the meaning given is:
1.
of, pertaining to , characterised by or of the nature of sepsis.
2. causing sepsis; putrefactive, putrefying, septic,
rotten.
I
also turned to the meaning of sepsis:
1. The
presence of pus-forming micro organisms in the blood or tissues.
2. A putrefactive process in the body, putrefaction, to make rotten.
I
am not going to use any of the ‘septic’ words which Gerald Moreno is using
in his article against me.
I am well-accustomed to the ploys of Sathya Sai Baba, his organisation
and other supporters whose agenda is to discredit those who seriously question
their conduct and beliefs, such as the Ex Baba group, myself
and other prominent critics. Now that criticisms are being aired to millions
in many countries by the BBC and Danish television documentaries (‘The Secret
Swami’ and ‘Seduced), the Sai Baba forces are desperate
to denigrate and vilify those who speak out against them.
No.1
is a published article by The Week
and Gerald Moreno shows not sign of having contacted The
Week to find whether there is anything false in the article copied from
my book Murders in Sai Baba’s Bed Room Vol II page 213 to 222
No.
2 to 5are from my book "Murders in Sai Baba’s Bed Room".
No. 6 an article by Beatrice Newberry published (2000-12-24) in The
Independent,
London.
No. 7 from Hari Sampath’s internet comments.. London.
GM : Basava Premanand is known as India's "Gurubuster"
and is reputed as the oldest member of India's International Brotherhood
of Magicians.
I do not know from
where Gerald Moreno got the above information. I searched all his references
and I could not find it. There are also several factual mistakes in the
article by Beatrice Newberry. In ref no.7 she wrote:
"At 71 B.Premanand is the oldest member of the group and its youngest
at heart" There is another sentence:
"For while other members of India’s International Brotherhood of Magicians
are hobbyists, Premanand’s mission is more ambitious – to expose any man
who pretends his magic tricks are miracles"
I did not know that Beatrice Newberry got it wrong. If she had sent the
manuscript of the article I would have corrected it. It is also surprising
that GM did not contact her or the newspaper "The Independent-London"
to check whether the article was without any mistakes. He did not do it
for reasons best known to him.
IBM is an International
organisation registered in United States and I am a member of IBM India
Ring No.261. I am the oldest member in this Ring. There are hundreds of
Rings over the world and I have myself met many old magicians who are much
older than me. What Beatrice Newberry has called me is “India ’s Chief Fakir-Buster.”
GM : He is also said to be convener of the Federation of Indian
Rationalists (which is headed by the Scientific Investigation of Claims of
the Paranormal) and he is also the editor of a monthly journal, called the
"Indian Skeptic".
I am the founder convener of the Federation of Indian
Rationalist Associations (GM has made a mistake in the name) and his next
mistake: it is not headed by the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the
Paranormal. Both are different organisations.
I
believe that he took this information from Beatrice Newberry’s article, but
did not contact me as to how far it is correct. I am not responsible for the
mistakes others make.
Moreover
GM has conveniently left out the word "Committee"
from the second organisation. This proves how poor his observation is.
What
Beatrice Newberry stated was:
that energy has also enabled
him to fulfill joint roles as head of the Indian Rationalist Society, President
of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of claims of the Paranormal.”
Here, I am not the president of, CSICOP which is registered in US and the
Chairman of which is Dr. Paul Kurtz. There are several committees in many
parts of the world and I am only the convener of the Indian CSICOP. Yes, I
am the Editor of Indian Skeptic.
GM: However, there is no information regarding his education and qualifications.
All articles that pertain to him give his only qualifications as being an
"amateur magician" and a "fanatic" or "irreverent"
rationalist. That's it. Why everyone is silent in regards to his education
is a mystery. This is important because Basava Premanand plays the role of
a forensic expert in the book he wrote about Sathya Sai Baba and the murders. The silence
in regards to Basava Premanand's education might have to do with the fact
that he did not get one: >
I have copied about thousand pages of GM’s vilifying articles, but I could
not find in any his age, educational qualifications and biodata. At least
he has got some information about me from the Beatrice Newberry article.
Moreno has not read the
Beatrice Newberry article properly. She actually stated:
"it was the start of a rebellious school career, at the end of which
Premanand was thrown out for joining the student movement for independence.
From the age of 12, Premanand was given an imaginative schooling at home".
It was while studying in the 8th standard that I was dismissed from school
for my participation in the Independence Movement. If he had used his wits,
he could have worked out in which class I was then studying (at the age
of 12). Even with intelligence he could not have made out this fact, as
I got two double promotions.
I wonder how he speculated without any investigations that my only qualifications
are as an amateur magician, a fanatic or irreverent rationalist. These qualifications
should be there in the references given by GM. But none exist except in
the Newberry article, which is quite different from what Moreno has quoted.
It stated: "Over the years, his acts have become increasingly irreverent,
ridiculing every trickster by name, from the smallest Baba upwards".
It is not necessary that I am a forensic expert. I do not know whether Moreno
is one. He has not introduced himself. I can get opinions from the forensic
experts and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, which is a life member
of our committee, as is Dr. P.M. Bhargava, who was the founder director
of CCMB.
GM : Basava Premanand was thrown out
of school at the age of 12 due to a political dispute in which his parents
refused to fill in a religion or caste on his school application form.
Here again Moreno is
confusing readers. I quote
what Newberry wrote: "His parents took the unorthodox view that all
religions were the same. When it was time to enroll Premanand at the local
school, they refused to fill in his religion or caste on the application
form. It was the start of a rebellious school career". I am wondering
how he twisted this to suit him. Why I was dismissed from school has been
explained in the previous reply, which I quote again:
"It was the start of a rebellious school career, at the end of which
Premanand was thrown out for joining the student movement for independence".
GM
: Consequently, Basava Premanand was home taught
What Beatrice stated was: "Instead from the age
12, Premanand was given an imaginative schooling at home"
In
actual fact, my father appointed a B.Sc. teacher to help me (and my younger
brother) to learn science until I reached B.Sc., standard in these years.
It was not 4 hours teaching as in schools and colleges, but 10 to 12 hours
learning with practicals.
GM : One day, Basava Premanand broke a mercury thermometer and hid it under
his bed on an aluminum plate, exposing himself directly to toxic mercury fumes
(which can cause psychological disturbances). Despite his father being knowledgeable
in science, Basava Premanand's father ordered him to wash the plate vigorously,
exposing him, once again, directly to toxic mercury. Basava Premanand supposedly
experimented many times with mercury, as he claims that aluminum reacting
with mercury and moisture produce aluminum oxide ash (vibhuti).
Is this to brain-wash people
subtly that I have psychological disturbances? A frequently used attack on
those who has searching questions is to suggest that the critic is mentally
unsound. This shameful, intellectually dishonest tactic deals in innuendo,
which replaces facts and rational argumentation. GM has also used this technique
on the Internet to try to defame other critics of Sai
Baba, such as a very convincing alleging victim of Sai
Baba’s sexual abuse, Said Khorramshahgol.
(Read about it here)
As
the above speculation was made by GM from the Newberry article, I shall quote
what she wrote:
"One day, I broke my father’s thermometer, so I hid it on an aluminium
plate under my bed. When my father found it out, he ordered me to wash the
plate vigorously, but, when I did, a frothy grey substance appeared."
Beatrice Newberry has mistaken what I narrated. Aluminum will not react with
mercury in moisture and produce a grey substance. In my accident of breaking
the thermometer, I had collected and poured it in a glass bottle and a stopper
and the glass pieces of the thermometer were kept in an aluminium plate which
was available then and kept under the lab table. When father wanted the thermometer
for his experiments I confessed and when he asked me what happened to the
mercury and the broken glass pieces I showed him the bottle and the glass
pieces in the aluminium plate. He kept the mercury and asked me to clean the
plate thoroughly. I cleaned it with tamarind pulp and coconut fibre along
with water and when the plate got dried up, a greyish powder was forming in
the plate and we all got surprised. The unseen globules of mercury in the
aluminum plate had reacted with tamarind producing the greyish powder and
it formed like white ant hills.
It
is surprising that GM did not conduct experiment to find if it was true to
contradict. If he knew a little science and did the experiment, he could have
added that my experiments are also false. My father did not have any university
degrees, but he was a man of genius with many inventions
to his credit.
GM : Basava Premanand is highly critical about the profit making
at Sathya Sai Baba's ashram and has pointed out profit margins in degrading terms.
GM has not mentioned from where he collected this information.
I did not find this in any of the references he has quoted. If he would
clarify from where he got this information, I could explain. In many articles
I have discussed the profit making by Sathya Sai Baba even on selling the vibhuti which
he claims he creates.
GM : However, Basava Premanand has
apparently succumbed to the same temptation in regards to selling his book,
"Murders in Sai Baba's Bed Room", which sells for 400 rupees (approximately
$9 US Dollars) in India, but sells to foreigners for $40 US Dollars! Shipping
is free (about $3 US dollars). So, Basava Premanand is making a little over
a 300% profit from foreigners! Tsk! Tsk! His book was published in 2001,
8 years after the murders happened (just for your information).
Here
again before GM speculated, he has not asked for my clarifications. First
the prepublication price of the book was fixed at Rs.150/- and US $ 15/-.
The people sent the amount as advance as I did not have enough funds to
print it. I could print only about 500 copies and 90% copies were purchased
by the life members and pre publication depositors. Life members get my
books at 50% discount. The sale of these books were a loss to me, as I had
to pay a lot for printing the photos on imported thick art paper and get
these printed from quality printers. The book is posted by airmail and the
expenses come to about US $ 6.
Without
proper investigations and records I do not publish anything. Moreover lots
of money has to be spent. So it took a great deal of time, as I am a middle-class
person living on the sale of books. I do not also beg for donations like GM’s
god-incarnate, nor do I collect any donations. So it takes much and valuable
time. GM has falsely accused me of being a profiteer. Why? What is his real
motivation? What agenda does he have that he is so careless about a person’s
good reputation?
GM : Basava Premanand's conspiracy theory is a true conspiracy theory; full
of unsubstantiated accusations, blatant assumptions and Sai-Fi speculations
that does not befit a true scientist or rationalist.
As a matter of fact, even Robert Priddy, who is very critical of Sathya Sai Baba, does
not even come close to making any of the allegations made by Basava Premanand.
For GM’s information, I have not authored any conspiracy theories and I would
request him to point any such in my book "Murders in Sai Baba’s Bed Room"
or articles in Indian Skeptic. He has not proved false any of my questions
on page 363 and 397 in Vol II of the book. Nor has he touched any of the facts
the photographs reveal about the murders to prove that they are false, though
he refers to the photos in his speculations. Forget about the summing up.
My writ was for the High Court only to order for a CBI investigation
and the data collected by me were based on the court and government records
which I could procure and the newspaper clippings.
GM : In classic, unscientific form, Basava Premanand submits, of all things,
newspaper clippings as "evidence" to support his claims against
Sathya Sai Baba. Despite the fact that many of the newspaper articles contradict each
other and fully indulged in a variety of conspiracy theories, referring to
numerous, unnamed "eye witnesses" and anonymous "reliable sources"
for their accounts. Basava Premanand is under the impression that these newspaper
clippings are factual because they were published in a newspaper and consequently
used as factual evidence against Sathya Sai Baba! A standard never used, or applied, in
any civilized court of law! Ever!
The
newspaper items were submitted not as a proof but just to show how agitated
the people were because of the destruction of the evidence by the police
and the silence by Sathya Sai Baba and the followers who were present at the time of
the murders. Every newspaper in India published about the murders, although
the Sathya Sai Baba official magazine Sanathana Sarathi was remarkably silent.
I am afraid that GM does not know anything about Indian
Courts. He could have approached Justice Bhagavathi or Justice Ranganath
Mishra. There are several instances where the High Courts and Supreme Court
took suo moto action against the alleged accused based on news paper reports.
One such instance, which happened when the Andhra High Court was hearing
the case of 6 murders in Sai Baba’s Bedroom, has been published on pages
25 to 28 in Vol I of the book. GM’s speculations prove that he has called
Indian courts uncivilised.
GM : Basava Premanand had every opportunity to call the
reporters who uncovered their "evidence" as material witnesses,
but chose not to do so. Why? If the evidence the reporters uncovered was
so incriminating, why does Basava Premanand ignore the actual incriminating
evidence and use newspaper clippings instead? This highly irrational approach
in gathering "evidence" comes from India's leading "rationalist"!
Believe it or not.
The
press reporters are not responsible to give out their information or evidence
to anyone. They can only be summoned by police on the orders of the courts.
How did GM speculate that I did not meet the press reporters? From reading
his speculations it is clear that he is no lawyer and that he has not consulted
any lawyers with the slightest knowledge of Indian laws while
preparing this article. It is plain that his motive is just to vilify me.
GM : The foundation stone to Basava Premanand's conspiracy theory
entirely rests on the times the assaults actually happened.
In all murder or criminal cases time is the prime evidence.
If the alleged murder victims were not in the place where they are alleged
to have been murdered or vice versa, the case would not stand. That was what
the Kanchi Kamakoti Jayendra Tirtha Swami did by sending by his coterie to
the police station to confess they had murdered Shankaraman. Police discovered
only afterwards that one of the accused was in jail at the time the crime,
a fact which gave clues that swami was the person who got Shankararaman murdered.
In
connection with the 6 murders in Sai Baba’s bed room, he alleged aides were in the Hospital at the alleged time of
the murder in intensive care and died at 9-50 and 9-45 pm as per the inquisition
report. Moreover, the Mandal magistrate did not
find blood on the pants of N.Radhakrishna and Sai Kumar Mahajan while potassium
cyanide bottle, syringes and needles were found in the front of Sathya Sai Baba’s dining
room. Now let us see what GM will conclude as to whether or not time is the
prime factor in relation to this or any other criminal case.
GM : It is Basava Premanand's speculation that N. Radhakrishna and Sai
Kumar Mahajan were NOT stabbed at the mandir complex, but were poisoned by
Vishnu Bhatt and Anil Patley (the 2 other devotees inside the mandir) with
potassium cyanide in buttermilk and were subsequently stabbed at the Super
Specialty Hospital and then were immediately cremated in an electric crematorium
to dispose of the evidence (despite the fact that N. Radhakrishna and Sai
Kumar Mahajan were not cremated immediately or in an electric crematorium)!
First of all N.Radhakrishna
and Sai Kumar Mahajan cannot be stabbed by the alleged assailants at 10.30
PM because they were in the super speciality hospital and died there at
9.50 and 9.45 pm.
The question is how and why potassium cyanide, syringes and needles were
found in the western side of the mandir at the door which leads up to Sai
Baba’s dining room.
When I did not mention anywhere that N. Radhakrishana and Sai Kumar Mahajan
were cremated in the electric crematorium, GM wants to confuse people with
false information. What I have mentioned in Reference 4 moreover was that
this would have been done in secrecy and the bodies sent to the super specialty
hospital to be cremated in the electric crematorium, so that they would
disappear from the earth. This is supported by the fact that the alarm system
was activated only at 10:30 PM and not earlier when the 4 injured aides
were taken to the hospital"
“The murder of the 4
alleged assailants also would have been a secret if their bodies were cremated
in the electric crematorium. But because they activated the alarm the devotees
gathered around the Sai Baba residence. So the police help was sought to
get out of the murders by a story explained in the F.I.R to rescue Sai Baba.
It is this alarm which forced Sai Baba to rush out of the place of crime
so that he would not have been accused of murders."
GM : Basava Premanand takes part of
his conspiracy theory from a discourse given by Sathya Sai Baba in which Sathya Sai Baba talks about
N. Radhakrishna offering him buttermilk. Baba took a small sip and let N.
Radhakrishna drink the rest (However, this does not account for the alleged
poisoning of Sai Kumar Mahajan).
According to Sathya Sai Baba this
happened at 7:30pm. Does GM believe that the story told by Sathya Sai Baba and published
by Sri Sathya Sai Publication Society (Vol.1 Page 366 in the book) is false?
Did not Radhakrishna go out at 7.30pm and was not Sai Kumar Mahajan with
Sathya Sai Baba In his bedroom? When Radha Krishna knows that Sathya Sai Baba does not drink buttermilk
in the evening why did he offer butter milk to Sathya Sai Baba? Was he afraid that the
cooks had mixed the poison in the buttermilk? Was it to prove that the butter
milk did not contain poison that Sathya Sai Baba sipped a little?
GM : Despite the fact that Basava
Premanand sees Sathya Sai Baba as a liar, corrupt, a sexual deviant and participating
in illegal operations ranging from outdated weapons to narcotics, Basava
Premanand believes Sathya Sai Baba's discourse statements and uses them to form his
conspiracy theory!
This story was told by
Sathya Sai Baba to his audience - that the poison was not in the butter milk. I could
not find the allegations GM has mentioned in any of the references he has
stated, He must prove that Sathya Sai Baba’s story was false. This story is published
by Sathya Sai Baba Book Trust in Sanathana Sarathi and Sathya Sai Speaks, as well as
on a Sai Internet site. The people around Sathya Sai Baba in his mandir have remained
silent. If Sathya Sai Baba was innocent what was the necessity for the coterie to remain
silent?
GM : So, if one could adequately refute
Basava Premanand's time line, one can adequately refute the foundation upon
which his entire conspiracy theory is built.
I invite GM to refute adequately the time line with
proof and not with the kind of speculations he has made in this article,
without any proof except empty words. Please note that I have not accepted
any where that the time of assault was 10.30pm
GM : Basava Premanand starts off by
trying to establish a time line for the assaults. He quotes the F.I.R. (First
Information Report from the Police) and Indian Newspapers to establish a
factual basis for when the assaults occurred. Basava Premanand references:
Occurrences of offence Day: Sunday, Date 6-6-93, Time 10:30 PM (Vol. 1,
FIR Page 336) The Hindu (Vol. 2, Page 12), The Independent (Vol. 2, Page
17), Indian Express (Vol. 2, Page 25), The Statesman (Vol. 2, Page 31),
Times of India (Vol. 2, Page 36) of 8.6.1993 have stated that the 4 assailants
tried to crash into the residence of Satya Sai Baba at 10:30 PM - 10:45
PM on 6-6-1993."
Entering into Sathya Sai Baba’s residence does not mean that the
assaults happened then. If GM wanted to prove the innocence of Sathya Sai Baba, he ought
to have first established with proof that all the newspaper clippings are
false and that all the records I have produced are false. Why did he not
do it when he apparently believes – despite his pro forma denials - that
Sathya Sai Baba has powers like omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence? Why doesn’t
he ask Sathya Sai Baba to open his mouth and prove all these are statements are false?
Does he intend to confuse the followers of Sathya Sai Baba by feeding them with meaningless
speculations? Did he talk with the newspaper people? At least to Mathrubhumi
(whose director, I may add, is also a trustee of the Sathya Sai Baba Central Trust?
I have NOT fixed the time line of assaults on the 4 aides and the 4 alleged
assailants. There is no proof that these 8 were assaulted at 10.30 or 10.45pm.
Could GM please tell us the references on which his speculations are based?
GM : Consequently, Basava Premanand establishes 10:30pm – 10:45pm as the time for the assaults. What
is ironic is that Basava Premanand uses the F.I.R. as evidence in establishing
a time for the assaults. Basava Premanand has openly, and unequivocally, stated
that the F.I.R. is not only unreliable but gives a fictitious account by corrupt
police officers who tried to cover their tracks. This was confirmed by a C.I.D.
investigation that found no less than 13 scathing discrepancies in the F.I.R.
and had three police officers arrested. So if Basava Premanand openly decries
the integrity of the F.I.R., why does he use it as evidence in establishing
a time line? Then, after using the corrupt F.I.R. as evidence, Basava Premanand
sites (again Moreno's frequent misspelling of the work ‘cites’) newspapers articles as
more proof regarding the time when the assaults occurred. Not telling us that
these very same newspaper articles were simply repeating the contents of the
F.I.R.! As a matter of fact, even the Indian Express 9-6-1993
expressed frustration in
obtaining the F.I.R. Clearly, the newspapers were simply repeating the contents
of the F.I.R. Nevertheless, if the F.I.R. was truly written by corrupt police
officers (as Basava Premanand claims) then the F.I.R and the newspaper articles
that quoted from it are all unreliable.
I have not established 10:30 PM – 10:45 PM
as the time of assaults
of N. Radhakrishna and Sai Kumar Mahajan or other four in any of references
on which GM’s speculations are based, when the inquest report states that
they were in the super speciality hospital before 9.50 and 9.45 PM and were dead. How could the assault on them happen at 10.30pm? The
time of 10.30 PM – 10.45 PM was when the 4 alleged assailants
entered the Sathya Sai Baba mandir. I have not quoted the F.I.R to come to this conclusion.
GM does not explain when the Police Officers were arrested or why the criminal
cases against them were closed, while the findings
of the CB-CID were neglected. On 8th the newspapers could not get
the copy of F.I.R. (First Information report) This
can be verified from the newspaper clippings in the book. The article in Deccan
Herald dated 12.6.1993 published in Vol II of my book page 12 proves it. I
challenge GM to prove where I have used F.I.R as evidence.
GM
: Consequently, Basava Premanand has, himself, refuted his own time line..
The time line is completely and utterly untrue and un-provable. Basava Premanand
had two options: To either accept the F.I.R. as true, or not. He chose to
accept the F.I.R. as untrue. So that now, he accepts it is as being true is
hypocritical. He, like Robert Priddy, is taking snippets here and there and
then draws erroneous conclusions. This from a rationalist and believer in
science!
GM
has not at all shown that I have refuted my own time line or that it is in
any way false. Except for him and the local police, no one can accept it as
true. I have not asked him how many options I have. He would dishonestly put
words into my mouth to prove that I have accepted it as being true. In this
instance, he does not point out which of the references demonstrate that I
have accepted F.I.R as true.
On
9.6.1993 Indian Express (Vol II page 55 of my book) informed that several
attempts to gain access to the F.I.R filed in the case were also thwarted
by the officers and their subordinates.
I have not accepted that the F.I.R was true anywhere but there is other information
collected in the book which GM has not mentioned.
By twisting words GM is confusing Sathya Sai Baba’s followers,
and the issue as a whole.
GM : Let us look further into Basava Premanand's conspiracy theory.
Because the inquests on both N. Radhakrishna
and Sai Kumar Mahajan state
that, initially, they were both alive (although unconscious) at 9:45pm – 9:50pm. at the Super Specialty Hospital (and
died shortly thereafter, confirming Sathya Sai Baba's time of 10pm for N. Radhakrishna),
Basava Premanand believes that since the F.I.R. and the newspapers gave a
time of 10:30pm – 10:45pm, that the stabbing occurred earlier at the Super
Specialty Hospital.
I
have not confirmed time of 10 PM for Radha Krishna as he
was already dead in super speciality hospital at 9.50 PM. GM has not published
any reference about Sathya Sai Baba’s time of 10 PM
for N. Radhakrishna. Therefore how they could
be stabbed in Sathya Sai Baba’s mandir at 10.30 PM
by the alleged assailants?
GM
: The implications, of course, would mean that all the doctors and numerous
others that were involved, all contributed to a cover-up, making the inquests
information (and times) unreliable. Putting this troubling fact aside, Basava
Premanand states that because the Post Mortem reports do not specifically
state the injuries were "ante-mortem", that MUST mean that the injuries
were "post-mortem"! This, despite the fact that both inquests from
the Super Specialty Hospital said
that both deaths were due to the stabbings.
When
the post mortem reports on the 4 alleged assailants very clearly states that
they died of shock and haemorrhage due to fire arm
injuries about 12 to 36 hours prior to autopsy and all injuries are ante-mortem
only, why in the case of N.Radhakrishna and Sai Kumar Mahajan
was it stated the deceased would appear to have died of shock and hemorrhage
as the result of multiple injuries? The doctor did not specifically state
that the injuries were ante-mortem because he suspected that the injuries
were post mortem.
I
have not mentioned anywhere in the references that, because the post mortem
reports do not specifically state that the injuries were ante-mortem, it must
mean that the injuries were ante-mortem.
"The
opinion in the post-mortem reports of the two aides of Sai Baba states vaguely
(Vol I page 347,349) that the 4 deceased would appear to have died
to shock & hemorrhage on a result of multiple injuries. This proves that
the two aides died not of stab injuries. It is not the inquest report but
the post-mortem and forensic report which explains
how they died. The mandal magistrate was not there at the place of occurrence
as a witness to state that both the deaths were due to stabbing.
GM : Basava Premanand knows that the person who did the Post Mortem was
Dr. C. P. Venkatanarayan. Why didn't he contact him or call him as a material
witness for expert testimony? If Basava Premanand is correct, then why is
Dr. C. P. Venkatanarayan not supporting him? Instead of getting any sort of
evidence from Dr. C. P. Venkatanarayan, Basava Premanand is playing the role
of a forensic expert, in which he has no known education. It is also important
to point out that Dr. C. P. Venkatanarayan did the post mortem on both N. Radhakrishna and Sai
Kumar Mahajan, while two other examiners did the post mortems on the four
assailants. This might explain why the specific reference to the injuries
being "ante-mortem" was not specifically stated. Basava Premanand
never asked Dr. C. P. Venkatanarayan for clarification that was only one question
away. Why?
I
know very well the Doctors who conducted post mortem. Without inquiring with
the Doctor concerned GM is questioning me why I did not call him as a material
witness for expert testimony? My writ petition was for a CBI enquiry. The
higher courts are not the places to bring witnesses. (How thoroughly ill-informed
GM so often is!) This is done in the lower courts after the police file charge
sheet. I am wondering how GM came to the conclusion that the doctors did not
support me. I did not play the role of a forensic expert. (GM seems to play
that role?) Again, we have members who are forensic experts: the CCMB and
Dr.P.M. Bhargava the founder Director of CCMB (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology) are
our life members.
There are others like Dr.M.W.Pandit, who is also a life member, and who proved
in the court against Swami Premananda of Trichinopoly that our method was
far superior to the methods in use in England. (But GM thinks his guesses
are superior to their findings, presumably?). GM has claimed that Swami Premananda
was innocent in the rape and murder case. This case was also a PIL (Public
Interest Litigation) case and argued by the PUCL (People’s Union for Civil
Liberties) advocate and went up to the Supreme Court and proved that GM’s
assumptions were false. I will discuss this in another article as to how Sathya Sai Baba
and his followers were scared because it could happen to Sathya Sai Baba also. So also
case against Kanchi Kamakoti Swamis. He has engaged Sathya Sai Baba’s advocates.
Without
asking me or the doctor who did the post mortem, GM fails to consider the
fact that I had met all the three doctors. My letters dated 7.1.1994 in vol
I page 81 state that I have met them in a meeting whose terms remain confidential.
GM
wrongly assumes that the 4 post mortems on the alleged assailants were done
by other doctors, and that Dr.C.P.Venkatanarayan
did the Post-Mortem on Radha Krishna and Sai Kumar Mahajan.
(This event, by the way, might explain why the specific reference to the injuries
being ante-mortem was not specifically stated). Here also, he did not enquire
with the Doctor nor did he consult the forensic experts. If he had consulted,
they would have explained that they were not sure that the words "would
appear" are used in the report. After the viscera are sent to the forensic
department, tests are done. The final report is filed in the Court. In this
case the forensic test report was not produced anywhere and was suppressed.
GM : To futher his time-line conspiracy theory, Basava Premanand
raises the issue of the telegram. The police said the four assailants, under
the pretext of delivering a telegram, confronted the devotees in the mandir
at 9:30 PM. Basava Premanand states that the ashram withheld the telegram
as evidence. Then, later, Basava Premanand states that Mathrubhumi, another
Indian Newspaper (Vol. 1, Page 70), investigated and found that the telegram
was sent by Chandraswami and was handed over to Suresh Santharam Prabhu (one
of the four assailants) at 10:05 PM on June 6th, 1993 and his signature was
received.
The
police have nowhere stated that the four alleged assailants confronted the
devotees in the Mandir at 9:30 pm. This report on the investigation
on the telegram was published in Mathrubhumi
after checking with the records of the Telecommunications department of
Puttaparthi. Justice Balakrishna Erady a trustee of the Sathya Sai Baba central Trust
is a Director of Mathrubhumi. More than this, this newspaper’s owners
are strong Sathya Sai Baba devotees. This report
on the telegram was published along with an article by Justice Balakrishna
Erady about what happened on 6.6.1993. If the telegram news was false, it
is all too likely that Justice Erady, being a director
would have taken action against the reporter of Mathrubhumi and the person who has
accepted Sathya Sai Baba as god incarnate.
GM : Despite no telegram ever being submitted into evidence, Basava
Premanand is more than willing to accept a newspaper article in place of the
actual evidence! No one has seen the telegram. However, Mathrubhumi claims
they investigated and found the evidence. Once again, why didn't Basava Premanand
use the person, who uncovered this evidence, as a material witness? Once again,
Basava Premanand discards the material witness in place of a newspaper clipping!
It
is not my work to submit evidence of the telegram and it is impossible for
me to produce the telegram as it was received by Suresh Santharam Prabhu who
was murdered the same night. It is for the law enforcement department to collect
evidence and produce them in the lower court and file a charge sheet.
GM
: The rest of Basava Premanand's conspiracy theory is based on this time line
that has been shown to be un-provable, untenable and unreliable. Also, Basava
Premanand's conspiracy is riddled with contradictions. One example (out of
many) is when Basava Premanand cites the four post mortem documents as genuine
and legitimate evidence, yet contraindicates their findings by claiming that
the police brutally beat and tied up the four assailants prior to shooting
them. However, the four post mortem documents
do not mention any injuries separate from firearm injuries. None. This would
adequately refute Basava Premanand's statements that the four assailants were
brutally beaten by the police officers.
GM
has not proved with any records that my time theories based on this time line
that has been shown to be unprovable, intenable and unreliable. Nor that my
theory about conspiracy is riddled with contradictions. Is GM not
confused in vilifying me? I have never
contradicted the findings of the 4 post-motem reports.
GM : I fully agree with the CID investigation that the police tampered
with and destroyed evidence and lied about it. Despite Basava Premanand agreeing
to the findings of the CID, Basava Premanand also says the CID is corrupt
as well! Such being the case, the truth will never be truly known to Basava
Premanand who sees corruption in anything related to Sathya Sai Baba. Sadly, in such a
scenario, conspiracy theories multiply quickly and spread like wildfire. Basava
Premanand, a critical skeptic of Sathya Sai Baba since 1968, could not resist the temptation
of indulging and furthering his own specious conspiracy theory in a book.
A conspiracy theory not even supported by other critics and skeptics of Sathya Sai Baba.
A conspiracy theory that accuses "the A.P. state government, the central
government, central excise and customs department, the law enforcement department,
state CB- CID, C.B.I, CVC and all Courts" of covering up and conspiring
for Sathya Sai Baba (who happens to be a fake, fraud and a lousy magician with no paranormal
powers). So there you have it: Basava Premanand's trial of Sathya Sai Baba by newspaper
clippings and assumptions.
It
is sane that Moreno agrees with the C.I.D investigations
which revealed that the police tampered with and destroyed evidence and lied
about it. I have also not mentioned anywhere that CID is corrupt as well.
It is true that I see corruption in Sathya Sai Baba and as I am not staying with Sathya Sai Baba I
cannot agree to the statement by GM that I see corruption in anything related
to Sathya Sai Baba.
I
have not indulged in any temptation of furthering a specious conspiracy theory
in a book. I am wondering if GM has any proof to prove that I am not supported
by other critics and skeptics of Sathya Sai Baba. Again, GM falsely says that I accuse
the AP Government, the central government, Central Excise and Customs department,
the law enforcement department, state CB-CID, CBI, CVC and all courts of covering
up and conspiring for Sathya Sai Baba. I contend that he is a fake, fraud and a lousy
magician with no paranormal powers.
What
I expressed in the reference 4 is as follows:
“The
AP State government, the Central Government, the Central Excise and Customs
Department, the State CB-CID, CBI. CVC. Courts - all know what is happening
in Sai Baba’s Empire. This I have expressed because investigations departments
like CB-CID, CBI, and CVC have already collected details but, due to political
influence, they cannot take any action. Removing the words "all know what is happening in Sai Baba’s empire´ GM has stealthily
added "of covering up and conspiring
for Sathya Sai Baba”. (The assertions in brackets are his).
GM’s conclusion was: "so
there you have it - Basava Premanand’s trial of Sathya Sai Baba by newspaper clippings
and assumptions.”
Here,
GM would ignore all the records I have published in the book "Murders
in Sai Baba’s Bed Room". He does so as to protect Sathya Sai Baba by his false assumptions
and speculations without going through the writ petition and the questions
in Vol II Page 363 to 403. Is he afraid to look at a single question in these
pages?
GM :
Better not inform Basava
Premanand that he got his story wrong because Hari Sampath, at http://exbaba.com/articles/murders.html, on ExBaba.com, revealed the "real"
story about what "really" happened on
June 6th, 1993
! Hari Sampath claims that no post
mortem examinations were done (contrary to the fact that they were) because
if the post mortems were actually done (hello, they were done), they would
have, "easily revealed the cause of death was NOT BULLET INJURIES"
(wrong again Hari Sampath, the post mortems ruled the cause of death from
bullet injuries)! Hari Sampath knows exactly what Sathya Sai Baba said and did because
unnamed villagers, who knew "everything that happened", told him
so! Furthermore, the crowds fell upon the four assailants and clubbed them
to death with sticks and knives! Something not supported by either the photographic
evidence or the post mortem examinations! The police "pumped bullets"
into the corpses of the four assailants (that were killed by the crowds) and
"hushed" everything up! Does any of this sound the least bit reliable
or honest? Just a bunch of sciolistic accounts told by a
b unch of frenzied and vindictive Anti-Sathya Sai Baba activists who care very little
for accuracy and honesty.
I
cannot talk for others as I do not have any records on which GM bases his
conclusions except the articles in Vol II page 352 to 360 in which I have
commented on page 355, that what I wrote in 1978 is now confirmed by Sai Baba’s
Intelligence and Security.
Now,
whoever Mr. Gerald GM may be, other key critics
of Sathya Sai Baba and his organisation have boldly come out.
Not GM, who has concealed his email address, phone number and postal address and
has used aliases like ‘Joe’, ‘Vishvarupa’ and other
bogus names and e-mail addresses. I got his article "Basava
Premanand: Deception" from Murali Krishna Yachendra at Nellore where
I had gone to meet the Superintendent of Police, Nellore and District Collector
of Nellore District to find how far my complaints have been investigated.
I already gave a copy of GM’s article to them and promised my reply to his
vilifying article.
I
note he has claimed:
"I am in no way associated with the Sai Organisation, nor do I belong
to any Sai group center. I alone decided to make these pages with no external
prompting or guidance. All the material on these pages is the sole and original
opinion of me, Gerald GM.”
This
is what every Pro Sathya Sai Baba website mentions as devotees know very well know that
Sathya Sai Baba does not get involved in legal battles.
I
had to copy many of GM’s articles on his website at http://www.saisathyasai.com/baba/ex-baba.com/, which has come to about
thousand pages from 2000 to 2005 June and I find that he has vilified me in
many articles. I shall go through them and answer them to prove that his speculations
are not based on truth and I shall send copies of my comments to the Cyber
Crime Department through the law enforcement department.
I
have already filed a complaint against Murali Krishna
to the law enforcement department and to the District Collector, Nellore, Andhra
Pradesh to take legal action against him under cyber
crimes. A copy of GM’s article along with reply also is sent to them for action.