Bhubaneswar: The enforcement directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached properties worth Rs 6.52 crore of spiritual guru
Surendra Mishra aka
Sura Baba.
Mishra along with his two sons Trilochan and Biranchi were arrested on August 31, 2015 for allegedly assaulting a man from a lower caste and cheating people by claiming to be a godman.
ED, which suo moto took up probe following Mishra's arrest, has so far attached his assets worth nearly Rs 21.47 crore.
"We had attached some of his properties worth Rs 14.95 crore in March last year. This time, we attached more assets to the tune of Rs 6.52 crore. The properties included land across the state worth nearly Rs 5.56 crore and bank balance of nearly Rs 96 lakh," an ED officer said.
Sources said the lands were registered in the names of Mishra's two sons and his Trahi Achyuta Trust. Mishra's
Trahi Achyuta Ashram is located at Jhinti on the outskirts of the city.
Trahi Achyuta Ashram was a once beautiful structure. Set up in 1983 at Jhinti village, nearly 30 km from here, the ashram has a well-planned residential colony, temples, sprawling water body, toy train, dispensary, nationalized bank, post office, clean and spacious roads and vast patches of green fields, spread over 20 acre.
The tranquil and picturesque ambience was disturbed on August 30, 2015, when some locals went on the rampage in the ashram branding Sura Baba as a fraud.
The government subsequently pulled down portions of the ashram saying the constructions had come up illegally on government land.
In another development, the ED attached assets worth Rs 52.58 lakh of
D K Panda of Vinayak Minerals for alleged fraud in lifting coal through Odisha Consumer Coop Federation. Total attachment in the case so far stood at Rs 112.81 crore.
