New Delhi: CBI has approached the
External Affairs Ministry seeking revocation of the passport
of Balkrishna, an aide for Yoga guru Ramdev, as the agency
alleged that it was procured on the basis of fake documents.
The agency has also issued a look-out notice against
Balkrishna after it registered a case against him under
Section 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) for
procuring the fake degree and violation of Section 12 of the
Indian Passport Act (knowingly furnishing false documents for
getting passport), CBI officials said.
CBI sources said agency has written to the MEA to
revoke the passport of Balkrishna.
"Since the passport is with him only, we have sought
not only revocation of the travel document but also issuance
of a Lookout Notice against him so that he does not flee the
country," the sources said.
The notice has been sent to airports, ports, major bus
depots and border check points especially around the
Indo-Nepal border.
Investigations on his citizenship were underway to
ascertain whether he is an Indian or Nepali citizen, they
said.
The Registrar of Sampurna Nand Sanskrit University,
which issued the degrees, Rajnish Shukla said CBI matched
records which showed that the enrolment numbers mentioned in
the fudged documents belong to a different student.
Balkrishna`s two degrees `Purv Madhyma`, a high school
degree issued in 1991 and `Shastri`, a Sanskrit degree in 1996
don`t figure in the university`s records, Shukla said.
The documents show Krishna Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, an
affiliate of the university had issued the certificates
which have been declared fake by the Vice-Chancellor of the
University.
The CBI had taken all the documents from the Bareilly
Passport office after the agency registering a Preliminary
Enquiry (PE) to probe whether Balkrishna had acquired the
travel documents using forged documents.
CBI officials said there were allegations that
Balkrishna had fudged certain documents and had acquired
passport using forged documents which is a punishable offence
under the Indian Passport Act.
The charges have been denied by Ramdev-controlled
Patanjali Yogapeeth Trust. "Balkrishna`s passport is valid. He
got his passport about 12-13 years back. Why is the government
now raising questions about it," Trust spokesperson S K
Tijarawala had said earlier.
Besides questions being raised about his nationality,
Balkrishna is under the scanner of the central investigating
and law enforcement agencies for allegedly amassing wealth
worth several crores of rupees disproportionate to his known
sources of income.
PTI
