The Economic Offences Wing on Wednesday submitted a progress report to the Bombay High Court on Rajneesh Osho’s will. Assistant public prosecutor Aruna Pai submitted the report in a sealed envelope to the court.
A Division Bench of Justice R.M. Sawant and Justice Sarang Kotwal was hearing a criminal petition filed by Yogesh Thakkar, who has been a disciple of Osho since 1989 and managing trustee of Osho Friends Foundation.
Mr. Thakkar said Osho died in Pune in 1990 and a document purporting to be his will surfaced in Spain in 2013. He said, ‘The will was created as an afterthought and produced for the first time 23 years after the death of Osho under suspicious circumstances.”
The petition, which was filed through Advocate Pradeep Havnur, states that foreigners smuggled and siphoned off Osho’s work, articles and yogic meditation techniques to copyright, trademark and siphon off benefits of Indian spiritual treasures. The petition said the works had huge monetary considerations running into millions of dollars per annum and was a rare spiritual heritage of India.
Mr. Thakkar filed a FIR under Sections 465 (punishment for forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 120 B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code in December 2013 in Pune.
He said Koregaon police failed to act for two years on the offences and demanded that CBI take over the probe. The matter has been adjourned to June 29.
