This has to do with an F.I.R. filed by one Atindra Jain, against Harbhajan Singh Chopra in Ghazibad, U.P. Mr. Chopra is a 78 year old british national, who was arrested on Tuesday, February 8th in Goa. Upon examining the contents of the F.I.R., it seems that the required due dilligence was NOT carried out by the Ghaziabad Police.

This entire FIR seems to be glued together with the sworn testimony of the witness Mr. Meharban Singh Sodhi. Now who is this Meharban Singh Sodhi? Is he even Meherban Singh Sodhi or is he actually a Mr. Resham Singh Bains, who happens to be a british national, currently residing at 85 Kailash Hills, New Delhi. We don’t really know whether his real name is Meherban Singh Sodhi or Resham Singh Bains. Hence, how can such a witness have any kind of credibility when he happens to be a person of least amount of credibility?

Whatever the person’s real name is, the fact is, that he last landed in India on a british passport (number 301674642, issued on June 30, 2002) issued in the name of Mr. Reshm SIngh Bains. Mr. Bains (or Mr. Sodhi) resides at the above mentioned address and also happens to posses an Indian passport. The pictures on both the passports are a perfect likeness of the same person.

The fact of the matter is, that Meherban SIngh/Resham Singh is a career criminal and has committed multiple frauds in India and in several other countries. He has been travelling on a the above passport, in which has has stolen the identity of legitimate british national, who may or may not even be currently alive. Resham Singh Bains is currently wanted in the U.K., by the Fraud Office of the U.K. Government.

Another criminal Mr. Davinder Sharma, alais Garner who happens to be a well know underworld character, surprisingly accompanied the Ghazibad Police to Goa, in oder to arrest the 78 year old Mr. Chopra. They even made sure that Mr. Chopra’s dramatic arrest was captured on camera and video and the major news media was promptly informed of the arrest. Davinder Sharma was seen on tv, accompanying the Ghazibad Police at the secene of Mr. Chopra’s arrest and subsequently, in the Goa court, where Mr. Chopra was brought. What Ghaziabad Police failed to investigate was that the Chopra family had filed a lawsuit against Davinder Sharma in December 2008, for extortion and harrassment. Mr. Chopra’s arrest was a retaliatory act by Devendra Sharma, to get even with the Chopra for having filed the lawsuit against them. The actual complainant Atindra Jain never ever met with any member of the Chopra family and hence, there was no question of him ever having loaned any money to them.

A very important fact to be noted here is that Resham Singh was an employee of Gurvinder Chopra in in London, U.K. and was subsequently brought to India to work for him over there, as his driver. It was then, that that Gurvinder Chopra found out that Resham SIngh’s real name is not Rashm Singh Bains, but is Meharban Singh Sodhi and that Meharban Singh stole the identity of one Mr. Resham Singh Bains in the U.K. and obtained a passport in his name, but with his own picture. At that point, Gurvinder Chopra dismissed Meharban Singh. Further, Gurvinder Chopra found out that Meharban Singh had stolen several of his belongings, including the check book mentioned in the Atinder Jain, F.I.R.. Somewhere along, Maherban Singh got in touch with Davinder Sharma (who happened to be an adverary of Gurvinder Chopra) and colluded with him plan this entire F.I.R. Atindra Jain is merely a decoy of Davinder Sharma and he never ever met with any member of the Chopra family.

Davinder Sharma bribed several officials and members of the Ghaziabad Police, in order to achieve his agenda. In reply to the Chopra family’s extortion case against Davinder Sharma, he gave a sworn statement to the Delhi Police Crime Brand Division in Sunlight Colony that he had given Rs. 60 crores to the Chopra family, in cash, as a loan. The Chopra family denied those allegations, but Davinder Sharma never got arrested against the Chopra family’s complaint. Since he is a well-known underworld operator, the police would never touch him, due the the power and the connections that he has. He several charges pending agianst him in the Crime Branch Speciall Cell at the Sunlight Colony Police Station, in New Delhi. Those charges include murder, extortion and criminal conspiracy. It is very strange that when Davinder Sharma claimed in his statement with the police that he loaned the alleged amount of Rs. 60 crore in cash to the Chopra family, they never tried to find out where Davinder Sharma got such a huge amount of cash from. Rs. 60 crore is an extremely large sum of money, especially in cash form. He should have been investigated by the Income Tax Department, to reveal the sources of such huge sum of money and whether or not, has has paid any income taxes against that money.

Mumbai police officers stand on a roughly made watchtower near the Gateway of India monument on New Year’s Eve, 2008

Disrepair of Police Forces and Lack of Accountability Contribute to Rights Violations

The Indian government should take major steps to overhaul a policing system that facilitates and even encourages human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. For decades, successive governments have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional, rights-respecting police forces.

The 118-page report, “Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police,” documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. The report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists. It documents the failings of state police forces that operate outside the law, lack sufficient ethical and professional standards, are overstretched and outmatched by criminal elements, and unable to cope with increasing demands and public expectations. Field research was conducted in 19 police stations in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and the capital, Delhi.

“India is modernizing rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system.”

A fruit vendor in Varanasi described how police tortured him to extract confessions to multiple, unrelated false charges:

“[M]y hands and legs were tied; a wooden stick was passed through my legs. They started beating me badly on the legs with lathis (batons) and kicking me. They were saying, ‘You must name all the members of the 13-person gang.’ They beat me until I was crying and shouting for help. When I was almost fainting, they stopped the beating. A constable said, ‘With this kind of a beating, a ghost would run away. Why won’t you tell me what I want to know?’ Then they turned me upside down… They poured water from a plastic jug into my mouth and nose, and I fainted.”

Read additional accounts from victims of police abuse.

Several police officers admitted to Human Rights Watch that they routinely committed abuses. One officer said that he had been ordered to commit an “encounter killing,” as the practice of taking into custody and extra-judicially executing an individual is commonly known. “I am looking for my target,” the officer said. “I will eliminate him. … I fear being put in jail, but if I don’t do it, I’ll lose my position.”

Almost every police officer interviewed by Human Rights Watch was aware of the boundaries of the law, but many believed that unlawful methods, including illegal detention and torture, were necessary tactics of crime investigation and law enforcement.

The Indian government elected in May has promised to pursue police reforms actively. Human Rights Watch said that a critical step is to ensure that police officers who commit human rights violations, regardless of rank, will face appropriate punishment.

“Police who commit or order torture and other abuses need to be treated as the criminals they are,” said Adams. “There shouldn’t be one standard for police who violate the law and another for average citizens.”

Human Rights Watch also said that while not excusing abuses, abysmal conditions for police officers contribute to violations. Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions. They are required to be on-call 24 hours a day, every day. Instead of shifts, many work long hours, sometimes living in tents or filthy barracks at the police station. Many are separated from their families for long stretches of time. They often lack necessary equipment, including vehicles, mobile phones, investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes.

Police officers told Human Rights Watch that they used “short-cuts” to cope with overwhelming workloads and insufficient resources. For instance, they described how they or others cut caseloads by refusing to register crime complaints. Many officers described facing unrealistic pressure from their superiors to solve cases quickly. Receiving little or no encouragement to collect forensic evidence and witness statements, tactics considered time-consuming, they instead held suspects illegally and coerced them to confess, frequently using torture and ill-treatment.

“Conditions and incentives for police officers need to change,” Adams said. “Officers should not be put into a position where they think they have to turn to abuse to meet superiors’ demands, or obey orders to abuse. Instead they should be given the resources, training, equipment, and encouragement to act professionally and ethically.”

“Broken System” also documents the particular vulnerability to police abuse of traditionally marginalized groups in India. They include the poor, women, Dalits (so-called “untouchables”), and religious and sexual minorities. Police often fail to investigate crimes against them because of discrimination, the victims’ inability to pay bribes, or their lack of social status or political connections. Members of these groups are also more vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and torture, especially meted out by police as punishment for alleged crimes.

Colonial-era police laws enable state and local politicians to interfere routinely in police operations, sometimes directing police officers to drop investigations against people with political connections, including known criminals, and to harass or file false charges against political opponents. These practices corrode public confidence.

In 2006, a landmark Supreme Court judgment mandated reform of police laws. But the central government and most state governments have either significantly or completely failed to implement the court’s order, suggesting that officials have yet to accept the urgency of comprehensive police reform, including the need to hold police accountable for human rights violations.

“India’s status as the world’s largest democracy is undermined by a police force that thinks it is above the law,” said Adams. “It’s a vicious cycle. Indians avoid contact with the police out of fear. So crimes go unreported and unpunished, and the police can’t get the cooperation they need from the public to prevent and solve crimes.”

“Broken System” sets out detailed recommendations for police reform drawn from studies by government commissions, former Indian police, and Indian groups. Among the major recommendations are:

• Require the police to read suspects their rights upon arrest or any detention, which will increase institutional acceptance of these safeguards;
• Exclude from court any evidence police obtain by using torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in suspect interrogations;
• Bolster independent investigations into complaints of police abuse and misconduct through national and state human rights commissions and police complaints authorities; and
• Improve training and equipment, including strengthening the crime-investigation curriculum at police academies, training low-ranking officers to assist in crime investigations, and providing basic forensic equipment to every police officer.

Selected Accounts from ‘Broken System’

“She was kept in the police station all night. In the morning, when we went to meet her, they said she had killed herself. They showed us her body, where she was hanging from a tree inside the police station. The branch was so low, it is impossible that she hanged herself from it. Her feet were clean, although there was wet mud all around and she would have walked through it to reach the tree. It is obvious that the police killed her and then pretended she had committed suicide.”

- Brother-in-law of Gita Pasi, describing her death in police custody in Uttar Pradesh in August 2006

“We have no time to think, no time to sleep. I tell my men that a victim will only come to the police station because we can give him justice, so we should not beat him with a stick. But often the men are tired and irritable and mistakes take place.”

- Gangaram Azad, a sub-inspector who heads a rural police station in Uttar Pradesh state

“They say, ‘investigate within 24 hours,’ but they never care about how I will do [that]; what are the resources. … There is use of force in sensational cases because we are not equipped with scientific methods. What remains with us? A sense of panic surrounds our mind that if we don’t come to a conclusion we will be suspended or face punishment. We are bound to fulfill the case, we must cover the facts in any way.”

- Subinspector working near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

“Often, it is our superiors who ask us to do wrong things. It is hard for us to resist. I remember, one time, my officer had asked me to beat up someone. I said that the man would be refused bail and would rot in jail and that was enough punishment. But that made my officer angry.”

- Constable in Uttar Pradesh

“With all the mental stress, the 24-hour law-and-order duty, the political pressure, a person may turn to violence. How much can a person take? … We have to keep watch on an accused person, their human rights, but what about us? Living like this 24 hours. We are not claiming that our power makes us born to work all the times. Sometimes we beat or detain illegally, because our working conditions, our facilities are bad. So we are contributing to creating criminals, militants.”

- Inspector in charge of a police station in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

Satyam Computer Services Limited was nationalized in January 2009 after its executive Chairman, Ramalinga Raju, confessed to overstating profits. It later emerged that more than $1.5 billion was illegally transferred from Satyam to Raju’s personally owned firms; these included a property firm, Maytas Infra Ltd as per copyright, that owned a $3 billion contract to build the Hyderabad Metro Rail system.

It appears clear that Satyam Computer Services Limited’s independent directors did not fulfill their duties. For instance, at a board meeting on December 16, 2008, to vote on a resolution to approve the acquisition of the Rajus’ property firm by Satyam Computer Services Limited at short notice, none of the independent directors questioned why only that firm was being considered for acquisition rather than any of the other property firms in the market (given the depressed state of the property market at the time, this should have been an obvious question). All the directors voted for the resolution.

The collapse of Satyam Computer Services Limited, India’s fourth-largest IT firm, shocked its clients (whose list included 185 of the Fortune 500 companies) and industry generally. It also challenged the usefulness of two pillars of Indian corporate governance laws – that listed firms employ an independent auditor and that the board should have a majority of independent directors.¹ It also raised questions about corporate governance and corruption generally in India, the scope and effectiveness of the laws on corporate governance, the scope and endemism of corporate corruption, the causes, and underlying trends.

Corruption in India is neither new nor limited in scope. India ranks 85th among the 180 countries in a recent study by Transparency International on political corruption.² The World Bank ranks India in the 25th to 50th percentile on the ability to control corruption.³

Economic corruption in India arose due to state controls of production through licenses and quotas. To gain access to licenses, corporations paid bribes. To gain access to goods and services in short supply, the public paid bribes. Thus, in the public mind, corruption, slow growth, inefficiency, and poor quality became inextricably linked.

A second source of corruption was the misuse of state power. The state has misused power in various ways. These include overstaffing public departments with favored voting groups, reallocating property rights to favored business groups and dispensing privileges in return for campaign contributions. The third source of corruption was inadequate disclosure and enforcement of corporate actions. With a few exceptions, listed companies were run as family firms that viewed their firms as hereditary fiefdoms.

India began reforming its laws from 1991. Licensing for production was eliminated in the 1991 reforms, thus solving the problem of inefficient production and short supply of goods and services.

The state has also shifted from governance by quota to independent regulation. Regulators in finance, insurance, and telecommunications, among others, have been empowered with the right to enforce global best practices and given independence from other organs of the state.

However, corruption in state patronage remains, particularly in land and civic infrastructure allocation, patronage recruitment, and election finance, despite reforms in these areas.

In summary, it appears that while Indian laws are better than in most developing countries, corruption is rampant due to the forces of patronage and lax enforcement. It is widespread enough to be considered endemic. The Satyam Computer Services Limited episode is symptomatic of a wider problem rather than a one-off.

A recent issue of Outlook had a cover story on Koda, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, who is alleged to have looted Rs 4,000 crore from the state. A related article in the magazine was on all the scams that have taken place in India and how little we seem to care about all those stories on corruption.

The Reddy brothers, YSR’s family, Koda, Raja – these are just the latest additions. They are the tip of the iceberg. For the record, all of them get away with the loot, and continue to be in positions of influence. Indeed, I cannot think of a single politician who has put behind bars for corruption.

This is a cancer that is not restricted to any particular political party. It infects the whole system. An honest politician has become an oxymoron.

Politics has become a way – and perhaps the only way in India today – to amass unimaginable wealth in the shortest possible of time. Of course, entry to the club is becoming increasingly difficult because politicians have realised that getting one or more of their offsprings into politics is the surest way of ensuring the ill-gotten wealth stays. The façade of ‘youth’ is being used to legitimise power and money procured by dubious means.

We, the voters of the country, are as much to blame. We don’t demand accountability. We keep voting back to power the same folks who keep ripping us off. And in all this, we stay a poor country – waiting forever for the date with destiny.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has topped the corruption chart with about 4,300 cases.

It is followed by Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Delhi Police.

There are about 457 corruption related cases against the Delhi government employees including 137 from Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

The DDA and Delhi Police where 305 and 133 officials respectively were facing corruption cases. Interestingly, 18 senior DDA officials have retired without their probe been completed.

According to MCD’s Vigilance department, as many as 4,299 cases were pending against 3,350 officials. Out of the registered cases, 1,435 cases were by anti- corruption branch of the Delhi Government, Police and CBI whereas 2,877 such cases were registered by its own vigilance wing.

The Delhi Police said that various criminal cases against 133 personnel were pending against serving officials since Jan 2008.

The cases were pending against eight inspectors, 12 sub inspectors, 18 assistant sub inspectors, 28 head constables and 67 constables.

Dear Madam/Sir

This is to bring to your kind notice that Delhi Jal Board Employee. Mr. Rakesh Kumar pathak R/o 431 Janta Flat Nand Nagari Delhi-53. Mr. Rakesh Kumar is not attending to the Delhi Jal Board office since last Eight Year. Corrupted Delhi Jal Board Employee help to Rakesh Kumar in maintain the attendance register and Salary from Delhi Jal Board. Instead he spends time in completing personal business Famous of Modern Glass Putty Industry ( Jhilmil industrial area shahdra delhi 53 And Dilshad Garden delhi) .The Document of the Modern Putty Industry Company has been prepared in such way that proves the company is owned by some other Person. But in realty the owner and Financer of Modern Putty Industry is Mr. Rakesh Kumar who is employee in Delhi Jal Board. Document prepared in the Name of His Wife Ms. Anita Pathak (House Wife) and his brother in Law . Who Live in Dilshad garden Delhi for protection of Mr. Rakesh Kumar from any action. If Mr. Rakesh Kumar is not owner of Modern Putty Industry then Why He does not attend the Delhi Jal Board Office why all the commercial vehicle of Modern Putty Industry are parking near his residential area and why all the employee of Modern putty Industry deal and got cash for field work by Mr. Rakesh Kumar from 431 Janta Flat GTB Enclave Nand Nagari Delhi 53 and why the all record of Purchase and delivered material, vendor visiting card, cash memo and other important document of Modern putty industry kept by Mr. Rakesh Kumar. All the tax return of Modern putty Industry has been prepared in the name of Ms Anita w/o Rakesh Kumar and Brother in Law of Rakesh Kumar Including Pan Card Details and salary(for Modern Putty industry employee) are distributed in factory in the name of Mises Anita w/o Rakesh Kumar and his Borther in Law for Protection of Rakesh Kumar. But in realty the owner and Financer is Mr. Rakesh Kumar as a result of which Rakesh kumar has saved lot of Property in the name of his wife, children and own relative like four Car, Three Motor Cycle, three Commercial Mahindhra three wheels Tempo Two Plots (Land) in Karaval Nagar Delhi, And a Big Land in Harsh Vihar Delhi and U.P on the name of his wife three children and his brother in law family member., A Temple in village whose source of Income, Lot of Gold and diamond jewelry, Luxury Furniture and free handsome Salary with 6th pay commission facility,CGHS and other Facility provided from Delhi Jal Board & income through Rent by 2nd floor of flat no 431 Janta Flat GTB Enclave delhi . Now Modern Putty Industry supply glass putty all U.P. Bihar, Haryana ,Delhi and some Part of M.P And Rajasthan. Respected Delhi C.M today generation facing unemployment problem and here is Mr. Rakesh Kumar Pathak enjoy free salary from delhi jal board with all facility provided by delhi Govt. We lodge the complain no CMO/PGC/529958 but complain is still pending in OSDCM (PG)table and other complain no is CMO/PGC/530262 complain format dispatched on 24/7/2009 to Chief Executive Office H,Q. Delhi Jal Board.In fact
the matter has been dismissed after bribing to the Delhi Jal Board authority.
we write to u with great hope & with the request to kindly conduct an enquiry this matter at your end & oblige. We are being threatened with life by Mr. Rakesh Kumar Pathak and his Wife Anita Pathak also.

O.P. Chanchal 427 Janta Flat GTB
Nand Nagari delhi 53

Education has lost its essence in the recent past. It has become a mere trade-off against money. The quantity has gained momentum whereas the quality has deteriorated. The education level of a child has become a matter of pride and honour for the parents. It’s role of empowering individuals, to be better human beings, is getting diminished with time.

Of late, the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, declared UGC to be one of the most corrupt governing bodies in the country. Soon after that, there arose an ambiguity concerning the title of ‘Deemed University’.

The above steps have been taken to increase the transparency within this sector. These days, there is a flood of Institutions in the country, who claim to be the best among all . However, they are mere tuition centres, who charge huge amounts of fees ( that is charged by regular students of a University ) and provide degrees, whose validation is under question. Most of them donot even follow the norms setup by the Governing bodies to attain some minimum standards.

Moving from the prevalent scenario of higher education to that of the School level education, the decision that cannot be ignored is that of ‘ Scrapping of Class ten Board examinations’. The students of class 10 donot have to give Board Examinations. Rather, they would be marked through a year long process of Grades.

Reason behind such an action is to make the education system more practical and interesting for the students.

However, my question is that is it really happening ? Is the system able to impart values it is suppose to ? I donot think so.

The problem in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is increasing gradually. Corruption and nepotism in the team selection have been a cause of concern for DDCA over the last several years. Recently, Captain Virender Sehwag raised his voice against all the corruption in the state cricket body and threatened to leave Delhi to join Jharkhand next season of Ranji Trophy.

 Well, many former and current players of Delhi also joined Sehwag, in an attempt to protest against the interference of sports committee in the selection process. Several senior players like Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra have also expressed their concern over the matter. Selection process is heavily influenced by the outsiders.

 The way country’s most popular sport is run in the capital is really very disgraceful. Delhi presented many great players to Indian cricket team in the past. In fact, Sehwag and Gambhir are the two regular openers of Indian team at this moment. So, I think, time has come BCCI should take some steps to eradicate all the corruption and nepotism in the Delhi cricket board. If the game is affected by corruption in the capital, the other parts of the country will gradually be affected too.

 I would like to mention one thing that many of officials of DDCA are also active in BCCI and they might try to lead BCCI in the wrong way. This is what I fear most at the moment. Besides IPL, BCCI should also ensure that cricket is being run in the right way in the country.

Yoga guru Ramdev’s stance on zero corruption is a farce, as he chooses to keep mum on alleged con man in his employ, say complainants

On March 31, 2009, iconic yoga guru Baba Ramdev slammed the government for being soft on netas, who hoarded money in Swiss bank accounts.

In fact, Ramdev has always projected himself and his organisation to be squeaky clean and free from any charges of corruption.

It is therefore ironical, that among Ramdev’s employees is  a man who has allegedly swindled a Trust he used to work with earlier, of Rs 6 lakh.

And more irony the man, Rajiv Dixhit, says he works for Ramdev’s anti-corruption organisation, the Bharat Swabhiman Trust in Haridwar.

Flashback

In December 2004, five donors from Dubai and Oman, handed Dixhit, who worked for a social upliftment organisation called Bharat Peetham, cheques totalling Rs 6 lakh for the purchase of charkhas for villagers in Varud village of Wardha.

MiD DAY has copies of the receipts given by the trust to the donors. Incidentally, Mahatma Gandhi had set up an ashram in Wardha in 1934, which still exists.

However, trustees of Bharat Peetham said that though they had received the donation of Rs 6 lakh, the money had never been spent on charkhas.

They  alleged that Dixhit had misappropriated the funds. Said Sanjeev Jha, senior committee member of Bharat Peetham, “Charkhas donated by another organisation were distributed in the village.

But Dixhit in his letter to Ajay Jain (one of the Dubai-based donors) said those charkhas had been funded by the Dubai donors, which is a lie.”

The matter came to light when Jain, called Bharat Peetham in June 2005 and asked whether the charkhas had been bought.

“Dixhit said he had bought the charkhas, but later changed his stance saying the money had been used for the tsunami victims and then for construction of buildings,” said Jain.

“We are extremely upset that the funds meant for the poor were misappropriated. I have also lost face with the other donors, as they contributed at my behest,” he added.

Over the next three years, says Jain, Dixhit fobbed off enquiries on the donations and in 2008, Jain and Dixhit met up in India. The latter  admitted he had lied and had never delivered the charkhas.

Joins Ramdev

The same year, Dixhit joined Ramdev’s Bharat Swabhiman Trust. Consequently, both the trustees and the donors shot of three complaint letters to Ramdev, asking him to address the issue.

Copies of the letters are available with this paper.

Said Jain, “Baba Ramdev is aware about the matter as a meeting had been called at his ashram on March 11, 2009.

Ramdev was present with the trustees, but nothing came of the meeting. I was also invited for the meeting, but could not make it.”

Added Abhimanyu Giri, another donor from Dubai, “Many letters have been sent to Ramdev on the issue, but he hasn’t dealt with Dixhit.”

Rs 1.47 cr
Cost of the Scottish isle Baba Ramdev bought to set up a wellness retreat

The Other Side

Dixhit, who is in Haridwar at Ramdev’s Ashram, maintained that all the allegations levied against him are baseless.

“I used the funds for constructing the Bharat Peetham building in Wardha with the prior information of all the donors, except Abhimanyu Giri.

He did not want the funds to be used for the building. All the charkhas were purchased from the funds and distributed to the villagers.

I am the secretary of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust and a reply was given to the donors by Baba Ramdev in the meeting at the Haridwar ashram six months ago.”

Tejarwala, a spokesperson of Baba Ramdev, said, “Yes, Dixhit is certainly part of our organisation, but he is not a secretary. He is a karyakarta, like the thousand others who work for Baba Ramdev.”

Baba in the News

July 2009: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court judgment legalising gay sex among the consenting adults.

August 2007: Subodh Gupta, a corporate yoga trainer based in London, challenged Baba Ramdev for giving misleading statement or remaining silent on misleading news regarding weight loss achieved through his yoga.

Ramdev claimed that one can lose weight with yoga at a yoga camp in US.

January 2006: CPI (M) leader  Brinda Karat had alleged that human bone powder and animal parts were used in Ayurvedic medicines manufactured by Ramdev’s pharmacy.

Who is Baba Ramdev?

Baba Ramdev is known for his efforts in popularising yoga. He is also the founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth at Haridwar, said to be the biggest yoga centre in the world.

The Bharat Swabhiman Andolan, the umbrella organisation for the Trust was set up to eradicate corruption in India and restore prosperity.