New Delhi: Yoga guru Ramdev`s close aide
Balkrishna faced fresh trouble with the CBI claiming that the
university degree used by him to get a passport was fake.
The Registrar of Sampurna Nand Sanskrit University
Rajnish Shukla said the investigating agency came to the
conclusion after records were matched. The enrolment numbers
indicated in the fudged documents belong to a different
student, he added.
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, he said.
The documents show Krishna Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, an
affiliate of the university, as the issuing authority, Shukla
said adding the Vice-Chancellor has declared the documents as
fake.
The CBI had taken all the documents from the Ballery
Passport office after the agency registered 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
passports 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 SK
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 acquiring wealth
worth several crores of rupees.
Both Ramdev and Balakrishna were forcibly removed by
Delhi Police on June four from Ramlila grounds in Delhi where
the two were leading a gathering demanding tougher anti-
corruption laws.
While Ramdev was moved to Patanjali Yogapeeth,
Balakrishna went missing and surfaced on June seven.
"I was born in Haridwar and I am an Indian. I have
completed my education here. My parents are from Nepal,"
Balakrishna had said on questions about his nationality on
June 7.
However, the investigating agency claimed that while
applying for his passport for the first time, he had stated
that his father was a resident of Uttar Pradesh.
The Enforcement Directorate is also conducting a
discreet probe into the offshore assets and investments made
by Ramdev and institutions affiliated to his Trust.
The ED is probing whether Ramdev’s investments and
transactions were carried out flouting foreign exchange laws,
sources in the Directorate said.
On the scanner of the agency is an island in Scotland
which was gifted to Ramdev by a couple who is among his ardent
followers. The Little Cumbrae Island, off the fishing town of
Largs in Scotland, serves as Ramdev’s base overseas and also
as a wellness centre.
The probe, according to the sources, is aimed at
checking the flow of money and transactions through various
trusts floated by Ramdev including the Patanjali Yogpeeth
Trust, Divya Yoga Mandir Trust and Bharat Swabhiman Trust.
The ED, after completing the probe, may decide to
formally register a case under the provisions of the Foreign
Exchange Management Act (FEMA) or the stringent Prevention of
Money Laundering Act (PMLA), if findings show anything
unlawful, they said.
PTI
