JD(U) goes to police against Union Minister over gold hunt in UP

Carrying out its threat to seek action against Charan Das Mahant for allegedly misusing his official position to "spread superstition", JD(U) lodged a complaint with police and demanded registration of a criminal case against him.

New Delhi: Carrying out its threat to seek action against Union Minister Charan Das Mahant for allegedly misusing his official position to "spread superstition", JD(U) today lodged a complaint with police and demanded registration of a criminal case against him.

The police complaint accuses Mahant of abusing his official position in getting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to launch an excavation in Uttar Pradesh`s Unnao district on the alleged basis of a vision a seer had in his dream. The seer, Shobham Sarkar, claims that he had in a dream seen 1,000 tonnes of gold hidden beneath the ruins of a fort. "The Union Minister is encouraging supersition... He should have strongly rejected the baseless claims of (the seer), instead he directed ASI to take up the dig, thereby wasting public money. "He is guilty of misusing his official post," JD(U) said. The complaint, lodged by JD(U) General Secretary Javed Raza and other party leaders, seeks registration of a case under appropriate sections of IPC against Mahant and Baba Om Awasthi, an aide of Sarkar`s who has been speaking on his behalf. JD(U) president Sharad Yadav had yesterday condemned Mahant for "propagating superstition" and announced that his party would lodge a police complaint against him. The dig was taken up at the 19th century fort of Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh fort at Daudiya Kheda village in Unnao district.