MP: Computer Baba held during demolition drive at his Indore ashram

Computer Baba.

Self-styled godman Namdeo Tyagi, popularly known as Computer Baba, was arrested along with his six associates on Sunday in preventive action during the demolition of alleged illegal construction at his ashram in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, PTI reported.

The Indore district administration demolished an “illegal construction” belonging to him on Sunday. “Six people have been detained as they tried to obstruct the demolition process,” ANI quoted Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Indore, as saying.

Indore administration officials said that during an investigation, illegal constructions and encroachments were found on two acres of government land in his ashram premises, which is spread over 40 acres land and the market value of it is estimated at Rs 80 crore.

“The preventive arrests were made under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) during demolition of illegal construction on government land in Tyagi’s ashram at Jamburdi Hapsi village on Indore’s outskirts. Tyagi and six of his associates have been sent to jail,” PTI quoted Superintendent of Police (western region) Maheshchandra Jain as saying.

#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: District Administration today demolished an illegal construction belonging to Computer Baba in Indore.

“Six people have been detained as they tried to obstruct demolition process,” says Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Indore pic.twitter.com/iX7ggDRk0k

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2020

Officials said that the revenue department had imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the ashram office-bearers some days back and asked them to remove illegal constructions from the government land. However, as the illegal constructions were not removed, the administration took out the ashram belongings on Sunday and removed the encroachments amid heavy police security, according to PTI.

The controversial religious leader was appointed chairman of Narmada, Kshipra and Mandakini River Trust by the Kamal Nath government on March 10, 2019. Within minutes of joining office at the Madhya Pradesh secretariat, Computer Baba had demanded a helicopter for the circumambulation of the Narmada, saying he will need a modern “astra shastra” if the river is to be saved.

Before demanding helicopter, he accused the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of corruption in planting of saplings along the Narmada and announced a probe.

A year before the Kamal Nath government was formed in the state, Chouhan had appointed him on a panel to clean and rejuvenate the river and accorded him Minister of State (MoS) status in April 2018. Ahead of the state Assembly elections, he resigned from his post and sided with the Congress, calling the previous government irreligious. When Nath was sworn in, he was seated prominently on the dais and in his brief speech targeted the previous government of abandoning the cause of the ‘gau mata’ and saints.

In 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Computer baba had led a campaign with hundreds of priests to campaign against BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur and to seek votes for Congress candidate Digvijay Singh as they were upset with the BJP because the ruling party didn’t construct the Ram Temple in the five years of being in power.

“BJP sarkaar 5 saal mein Ram Mandir bhi nahi bana paayi. Ab Ram Mandir nahi toh Modi nahi.” (BJP remained in power for five years but it failed to construct Ram Temple, so when there is no Ram Mandir then there should be no Narendra Modi too.),” Tyagi had said.

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