Surat: Another controversy related to the illegal possession of land by Asaram’s ashram has surfaced in Surat district. According to local residents, the ashram authorities were allegedly trying to acquire the Shiva temple at Tajpore Bujrang village in Bardoli taluka.
The villagers forced ashram officials to remove pictures of the self-styled godman and the donation box placed inside the Baijnath Mahadev Temple late on Saturday.
They claimed that by placing the picture, the ashram authorities wanted to take possession of the temple. Although the picture has been there at the temple for many years, the villagers could not do anything till now. Villagers also described the ashram as illegal and they have decided to verify all land records to find out the owner of the land.
“We are collecting all land records from villagers, including revenue number and survey number. According to our knowledge, the ashram had been built illegally and its claim that land was donated by the government is false,” insisted Paresh Patel, member of the village panchayat, adding that there would be widespread protests once it is proved that the ashram was built illegally.
The ashram authorities preferred to remain silent on the issue.
DNA
