‘Murders in Sai Baba's Bedroom’ The Facts the Photographs reveal about the Murder

By Basava Premanand

Pic.l is the massive building where the 3 domes are covered with gold – the residence of Satya Sai Baba with a plinth area of 35’x90’ with a iirst floor of the same dimension. The ground floor from left up to 75' length is used as a prayer hall and the end rooms on theright is used by Sai Baba for personal interviews with a staircase leading to the first floor which is occupied by the godman, his personal aide Radha Krishna and other body guards including the trust member Col.Joga Rao. Tehelka Com November 29,2000 article states that the Sathya Sai Baba is ringed with two concentric circles of Israel-trained and armed security personnel, close-circuit television, wireless communications with Uzis slung on their shoulders.

Pic.2 is the photograph ofthe Baba distributing laddus to his devotees, after a sumptuous lunch to the devotees and the residents of Puttaparthi. It was after the 6 murders in the bedroom. It looks strange of a person who talks about practising universal love and his face expressing anger and cruelty. We remember Nero. When actual murders were carried out and Sai Baba got the case closed, this alone proves he is not one practising Sathya Dharma, Shanthi and Prema.

Pic.3 is the entrance to the interview room on the ground floor where selected devotees wait.

Pic.4 is the interview room where the four Sai Baba aides are alleged to have been stabbed by the four alleged assailants out of which two died. The blue door leads to the staircase leading to the first floor. Strangely the wooden throne used by Sai Baba while giving interviews is missing in the room. There is a pool of blood in the centre of the room on the left side which is alleged to have gushed out of the stab injuries of the
four aides.

There is a stick in the middle of the blood pool and a metal rod at the end of the blood pool facing the blue door. How these happened to be in the room is not investigated.

According to the FIR it is alleged that the four assailants entered into Baba’s ground floor room on pretext of handing over a telegram to Baba and the four aides objected them and that said assailants attacked and stabbed them with daggers indiscriminately. It doesn’t look like 8 persons (four aides and four assailants) were fighting and being stabbed When someone attacks, one does not stand still but try to evade the attack and escape. So the stabbing would not have happened at a particular place. If four had fallen down after being stabbed indiscriminately there would have been their foot marks and body marks in the blood pool. The splashed blood would have been in different places in the room. There are rope pieces strewn around the spattered blood. The police have not investigated who were tied with ropes - the alleged aides or the alleged assailants.

If someone had tied the alleged aides with ropes, the question of the assailants stabbing them does not arise. And if the alleged assailants were tied with ropes murdered and shifted to Sai Baba’s and Radhakrishna’s bed rooms, the question of the jumping on police to kill them do not arise. Therefore the police drama of firing 31 rounds of bullets was a farce. These rope pieces prove that the aides were not tied by the alleged assailants nor were they stabbed by them.

Moreover the feet of the 4 assailants would have been drenched with blood if they had stabbed the aides went to upstairs to do away Swamy as stated in the FIR there would have been foot prints of blood leading to the stairs but the floor after the blood pool leading to the door is clean without a speck of blood.

Pic.5 the staircase with doors open. While there are no footprints in blood on the floor after the door, surprisingly blood is seen sprinkled on the steps and 3 streamlets of blood flowing up to the floor on the doorsteps. This is unnatural and the police have not explained how the blood suddenly appeared on the doorsteps and the stairs. They also do not look like the footprints of blood of the four assailants. So if it was true that the four assailants had indiscriminately stabbed the four aides, their foot prints in blood would have been seen surely on the floor and the stairs or where ever they walked. Also when the door to the stairs is seen closed in Pic.4, it is strange that the blood has splashed on the stairs.

Pic.6 shows seven knives one as long as 4' long. lt is not known how these could be hidden in their body by the four alleged assailants when blood stains are seen especially on the 4' sword and the metal instrument. They were not found near the bodies of the four assailants.

As per the interview given by Retired Jus. Balakrishna Erady, Supreme Court, the 4 alleged assailants being the watchmen of the residence for the night had carried their bedding and the knives etc. might have been hidden in the bedding. But their bedding is not found inside the residence as per the observations of the mandal executive magistrate:

Pic.7 is the interview room of Sai Baba next to his bed room where Sai Baba meets the members of his trust and other functionaries: There are two wooden poles, one stained with blood, a pillow with blood stain, a wall clock, a table lamp and other articles on the sofa. But no blood on the sofa. The very fact that these materials are on the sofa set proves some one had placed them on the sofa. This proves that there were others in Sai Baba residence. On the left side of the sofa near the teapoy there is rope and a stick. In front of the sofa on the left side is a hose and a T-shaped metal instrument.

On the right side in front of the sofa, part of a red and blue box or book is seen. The teapoy on the left side of the sofa is full with materials - flask, idol of Ramakrishna. etc.,

Pic.8 is of the 2 bottles containing potassium cyanide and ether and the rest are the defused bomb parts with wire etc. The police have not explained how alter a thorough search of the premises on 7th, they discovered the bombs on_8.6.1993. Also because of the visit of president’s family and home minister the whole complex would have been searched by the intelligence department as per the protocol. When the bombs were not found then, it proves beyond doubt that the bombs were planted after the murders to make the murder case strong. 7

Pic.9 is the door to Sai Baba’s bedroom. It is alleged in the F.I.R. that the police broke open the top left side plank to open the door. Photographs 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27 and 28 taken from inside and outside Baba’s bed room do not show the broken pieces of the plank except a small blue coloured piece near the back of Sai Ram in Pic.16. If the door plank was broken before the shooting, the pieces ought to have been found inside and outside of the bed room. The photograph 9 shows the plank was neatly removed. There is no proof that the police broke open the plank in which case the plank pieces ought to have been seen in the above photographs.

Pic.l0 is of Radhakrishnan, the personal aide of Sai Baba who takes care of his physical needs and Pic.11 is that of Sai Kumar Mahajan, both of whom are alleged to have been stabbed to death by the alleged assailants. It is not known whether the other two alleged aides have been questioned as to how the rope pieces are found in the interview room in blood. It is also not known how Sai Kumar Mahajan could gain entry into Sai Baba’s bed room and how he was allowed to go at night from the hostel by the warden.

Pic. 12 to 15 are the photographs of Suresh Shantharam Prabhu, one of the four alleged assailants.

What the FIR states about the shooting dead the four assailants is that at about 11:30pm four assailants armed with daggers suddenly opened doors (of Baba’s bed room) pounced on police, attacked and caused injuries to three with a view to kill. As police could not over power them, in self defense, 5 police opened fire killing all the four assailants in the mandir. According to postmortem report all the four assailants were shot dead point blank at less than 6" distance. If the assailants had rushed out of the room, they ought to have been shot outside and not inside. The position of their bodies prove that all were shot inside the rooms and not from outside.

Pic. 12 shows Suresh Shantharam Prabhu with his head on the door step. In the 13th photograph taken from his back, his legs are in the middle of the room and there is a pink coloured bath towel on his right side. At his back on the left is a fallen teapoy. In the 12th and 13th photographs the position of the legs of the teapoy is different. Moreover if the teapoy was really mere it would not have been possible to open the door. If the assailant had come out of the door to stab the police, he would not have been shot inside the center of the room, from the back. There is not a drop of blood on the floor when he had been shot at less than 6" distance at the back of the right chest.

The position of the body in Pic. 12 and 13 shows that he was shot from behind from the room. When the four alleged assailants were shot dead at less than 6" distance, what was the necessity of 5 police shooting them is not known. Moreover the bullets which have pierced them have not been checked as to from which rifles they were shot.

In the photographs 12,13 and 14, the body is lying in face down position, while in photograph 15 the body is on tl1e back with face up. It is also not possible to identify the room and as per the CB-CID remand report it is the bed room of Radhakrishna. On the far end of the room a bed sheet has fallen down half on the ground. The wound on the back of right chest is visible but it is dry. As the bullet did not come out of the body, there cannot be blood in the front side of the chest. But photograph 15 shows blood on the right and left of the shirt in the front and also on the sleeves. In photograph 12,13 and 14 the eyes are shut while in photograph 15 eyes are open. Some one has raised the shirt and so his chest and part of the stomach is seen. His right hand is in a different position in photograph 15 from that in photographs 12,13 and 14.

There is a drop of blood on the floor near the doorsteps and two knives. If Suresh Shantaram Prabhu after being shot in the middle of the room fell down dead the knives cannot fall outside. The position of the two knives looks as if some one had placed them there. The two hands under his body proves that he had not thrown the knives away. More over, no gloves is seen in the room or outside. So the fingerprints on the knives ought to have been checked by the police. There is some blood on his pants near the right leg.

Pic.l6,17,18,l9 are of Sai Ram a student of Baba’s University. The warden has not explained how he came out of the hostel at night when it is claimed that the hostel rules are very strict. The snake bed points out that he is in Sai Baba’s bedroom.
His legs are inside the door and so he was shot inside the bedroom. He has been shot at the left side of the neck from a distance less than 6". If he was running out of the room and stab the police it would not have been possible to shoot him at the left side of the neck. His leg and body position proves that he was inside the room facing the bed.
When his palms are under his body it would not have been possible for him to remove the gloves from his hand and throw it behind his head. There is no blood on the gloves also. The blood on the planks of the door proves that he was shot from inside with the door closed. Splashes of blood are there around him up to the hips and a pool of blood in front of his face. A neat white folded cloth is also splashed with blood which would not have come from the neck injury. There is a box and a small knife near his knee joint, also a blue bag, under his left foot there is a white cloth.

In Photograph 17 there is a rope above his head in the corner of the room. The eyes are closed in photograph l6,17, 1 8, while in photograph 19 it is wide open. Someone has raised his shirt and his stomach part is seen with his left hand on it. His mouth is open and everything looks unnatural.

In all the photographs the jeans and shirt are clean without blood stains. In usual course the blood would have sprouted out immediately he was shot on the neck and drenched his dress. It is also not possible to identify the room in photograph 19.

Pic.20,21,22 and 23 are of Jagannatham. His body is lying on his right side with legs towards the door and head towards the cot and the face towards the wall. There is a watch on his left hand and his left palm is near his face. He has been shot on his right palm, on the left side of the axilla piercing the left side of the chest and another shot on the right side of the 2nd sutor costal area lacerated up to the right mammary area. Here also he has been shot from inside the room and not from outside the door. There is an object near his right palm. The floor is clean and though blood is seen on the sleeves of the right hand in pic.20, the blood is not visible in pic.2l and 22. Pic.23 is with face up. There are blotches of blood on the right side of the chest but his hand position differs from the other photographs. While in photographs 20 and 21 his left hand touches his nose, photograph 22 shows his left hand away from the nose.

Pic.24 is of Suresh Kumar with Baba. He was very near to Baba and had
collected lots of mementos from him. So also other assailants.

Pic.25,26,27,28 are the murder scene of Suresh Kumar in Sai Baba’s bedroom.

In pic.25 and 27 you can see his feet in the space of a wooden almirah. This very clearly proves that he had not dashed out of Baba’s bed room to stab the police and really he was shot while hiding behind the almirah. He was shot in the left eye and the brain was lacerated, the 2nd shot was on the right thigh and the 3rd shot in the lateral side of the left wrist. All shots were from less than 6" distance. There is a blood pool around him down the waist and not beyond the thigh. Though the 2nd shot was on the right thigh there is no blood on the right side of the pants. Both the hands are with blood but the blood had not splashed around after the fall. The two knifes are clean at the handle and the one near to him, the blade has blood stains. There are two gloves near him one as if dipped in blood and the other spotless. When he would have died immediately he was shot in the eye there would not have been any time to remove the gloves after having been shot on the left wrist. There is also a part of white cloth touching the red ‘gloves without any blood on it. His shirt and pants are almost spotless. In photographs 25,26,27 he has fallen on his left side. The photograph 28 shows him fallen on his back and the hands are not in the same position as in other 3 photographs 25,26,27.

These murder photographs seem to have been taken alter the bodies are moved from the place of murder and suit the built up story in the FIR by the Circle Inspector of police Gangadhar Reddy, at the direction of H.J.Dora who had rushed to Puttaparthi on the 6th night itself from Hyderabad.

Pic.29 is of Vijay Shantaram Prabhu who escaped murder and Pic.30 is of Ravindra Babu who also escaped from the murder.

Pic.3l is of the Circle Inspector Gangadhar Reddy who tiled the false FIR and the other 2 pictures 32 and 33 are of the police constables who are alleged to have been stabbed by the four assailants. They had only scratches by blunt instruments and were not by sharp knives.

With all the fanfare that once these two fugitives who escaped on 6.6.199 are arrested the police would be able to get evidence on the conspiracy, nothing happened. The case was closed on a confidential G.O by the A.P State Home department against law and to save the Baba.

According to BBC visiting correspondent, Jaswinder Singh’s on the spot reporting from Puttaparthi the four alleged assailants were not killed by the police, but by the Baba’s own people. The BBC had quoted the mother of E.K. Sureshkumar one of the Dead “Assassins” that her son was for long fearing murder and he was finally killed. (Vol.2, Page 294).

The logical conclusion from these photographs beyond doubt is that the state police, the high court, the supreme court and the state government have colluded together in hushing up the murder case with all these proofs, the news paper reports and the records of the case.

The police failed in their duty to verify the finger prints on the alarm switch the knives, the bottle containing potassium cyanide, ether, the bombs, the poles etc., which if they had verified would have been enough proof to arrest the real murderers.

The murderers are neither the aides nor the alleged 6 assailants but the Sai Baba coterie who on the order of the Sai Baba murdered them.