Kendrapara, December 14 (LocalWire): Five months after the self-styled godman Sarathi, alias Santosh Roul, was released on bail, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached three more plots belonging to his Sarathi Ashram and Satyam Charitable Trust in village Garapur at the outskirts of Kendrapara town.
According to sources, the ED attached the properties managed of the trust managed by Sarathi on Saturday under section 8(4) of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002.
It may be recalled that the ED had earlier on July 27 this year attached 26 immovable properties of the trust and warning punishment for the trespassers.
The self-styled godman was languishing in jail for four years before being released on 25 July this year after the High Court granted him conditional bail, Kendrapara sub-divisional police officer said Rajiv Lochan Panda said.
The Baba was arrested by the Crime Branch sleuths on 8 August 2015 from his Ashram on charges of sexual assault, physical exploitation of women devotees and other charges under section 420 (cheating), 467 (Forgery), 468, (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 471 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), 321 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.
The officials of Roads and Buildings in Kendrapada had valued the properties of Sarathi Ashram in Barimula four years back on the direction of the crime branch and found a two-story guest house and other landed properties of the ashram spread across 2.5 acres of land.
The sprawling hall in Barimula Ashram was meant for congregations of five thousand devotees where the godman delivered religious sermons.
After his arrest, work at the under-construction ashram at Madhurakanda, Aul and Rajnagar in Kendrapada district had been stopped.
The officials of the crime branch had also sealed the bank accounts of Sarathi Baba and Satyam Charitable Trust in the State Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Punjab National Bank, United Bank and Urban Cooperative Bank at Kendrapara four years back.
LocalWire
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