Passport trouble for aide
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s trusted aide Acharya Balkrishna, who is at pains to assert he is Indian and not Nepalese, got an Indian passport and arms licences on the basis of fake documents, says an intelligence report of Haridwar police.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s trusted aide Acharya Balkrishna, who is at pains to assert he is Indian and not Nepalese, got an Indian passport and arms licences on the basis of fake documents, says an intelligence report of Haridwar police.
Balkrishna (39), who surfaced here on Tuesday after remaining underground for three days, following the police crackdown on Ramdev’s anti-corruption protest at Ramlila ground in New Delhi, claimed his parents were Nepalese but he was an Indian national.
HT is in possession of a copy of the intelligence report dated August 5, 2005, marked to the then senior superintendent of police. The report states, “It is clear Balkrishna is a Nepalese citizen, but he applied (for passport) as an Indian citizen and showed Haridwar as his birthplace. The passport was issued in 1998 ... and he also travelled abroad on this passport.”
The report adds: “… on basis of fake information and documents, Balkrishna also got two arms licences. Since passport and arms licence are issued on the basis of intelligence reports, it has to be probed.”
Balkrishna, who controls most of the business of Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yog Trust founded by Ramdev, ducked questions on the arms licences during a press conference here. However, he said as per the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty he was an Indian citizen, as he had spent 11 years in India.
A government source said the Uttarakhand government in 2005 did not act on the basis of the report because the then CM ND Tiwari was reportedly ‘friendly’ with Ramdev.
The source said the union government had sought details of Balkrishna’s records from the state government.
The Haridwar district administration is also collecting information pertaining to documents furnished by Balkrishna. Haridwar district magistrate Meenakshi Sundaram said, "Chief secretary Subhash Kumar has sought details on the issue."