Controversial Godmen Of Odisha Who Took Things Little Too Far

Bhubaneswar: Bijayananda Choudhury alias Shri Swami Bijayanandaji Maharaj is the lastest self-styled godman of Odisha to have been arrested for fraud.

He allegedly conned a contractor of Rs 3 crore by posing as chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC). He was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state Crime Branch on August 22. Three days later, a contractor of Berhampur lodged a complaint against him, alleging that he duped him Rs 25 lakh on the promise of awarding a tender for construction work.

In 2015, two controversial godmen – Santosh Roul alias Sarathi Baba and Surendra Mishra alias Sura baba – hogged the spotlight amid violent protests over their alleged illegal activities.

It started on August 4, 2015, when a TV news channel aired a story on a controversial godman Sarathi baba holidaying with a woman in her 20s in a five-star hotel. He was arrested by the Crime Branch on August 8, 2015, from his Barimula ashram in Kendrapada district on charges of sexual and physical exploitation of women apart from cheating devotees.

More than 30 bank accounts with deposits of over Rs 2 crore along with 50 property documents in the name of Satyam Charitable Trust, floated in the name of his adopted son Satyam Roul, were seized.

Sarathi’s properties were estimated to be worth Rs 20 crore.

A college dropout, he vanished in 1985 and reappeared in 1992. During these seven years, he is said to have acquired some black magic skills. He started the ashram in Barimul towards the end of 1992 and was known as an incarnation of Lord Krishna, Shrimad Sarathi Dev, to his followers.

According to his close aides, he led a lavish life, loved to wear modern outfits, and had a penchant for foreign liquor and chicken.

Though the Orissa High Court granted him conditional bail on August 4, 2017, he remained in jail till being granted bail in another case on July 22, 2019. He walked out of Choudwar Circle Jail on July 25, 2019, on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh.

Nineteen months after his release from jail, the HC in February 2021 allowed Sarathi Baba to give pravachan (spiritual discourse) after July 1 to a maximum gathering of 200 persons with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines. Sarathi had petitioned the court seeking modification of one of the conditions laid in its August 4, 2017 bail order.

The head of Trahi Achyuta Ashram, Sura Baba was arrested on August 31, 2015, on charges of blackmailing and sexual harassment of women, illegal possession of arms and forcible possession of private lands. Police had seized two guns from his ashram.

He faced public wrath after a woman levelled allegations of sexual harassment against him in a report aired on a local channel. Hundreds of people from nearby villages went on a rampage at the 14-acre ashram, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.  The mob set the record room of the ashram and around 20 vehicles on fire.

Prior to this, two criminals – Abhay Singh and Manjeet Saha – were arrested from Trahi Achyuta Ashram on August 21, 2015.

Surendra Mishra started out as a priest at a village temple. He shot to fame by claiming that he had acquired a sacred manuscript of Saint Achutananda that could foretell people’s future and solve their problems. The ashram was set up more than two decades ago.

The EOW had also seized huge amount of cash and properties regarding the case. His two sons – Trilochan and Biranchi – were also arrested.

However, the Supreme Court later granted him bail and he was released from Jhrapada Special Jail on December 2, 2017.

The controversial self-styled godman died on December 7, 2020, while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar for multiple ailments.

A day later, he was cremated in the backyard of his ashram at Jhinti Sasan in Khurda district.

Both Sarathi and Sura allegedly enjoyed the loyalty of devotees and patronage of politicians for a long time.

In September 2015, the ashram of a self-styled spiritual leader, Bana baba alias Kalki Baba alias Banambara Moharana, at Darshanibanta on the Konark-Kakatpur road which was set up by allegedly encroaching on the Balukhand sanctuary, was seized by the Forest Department.

Bana baba initially built his ashram on 10 acres of forest land in 1999 and the periphery of the hermitage was extended to 19.60 acres of forest land and 30 decimal of revenue land later.

His devotees, however, reoccupied the land and the building again on May 13, 2016.

On June 3, 2016, the Puri administration demolished the Kali temple and the havan kund built on the ashram premises amid a clash between the devotees and police.

Though he does not belong to Odisha, the self-styled godman of Bigg Boss fame, Om Baba, had hogged the limelight in 2019 by stating that he would soon start the construction of a replica of the Konark Sun Temple. It was an order from Lord Jagannath, he claimed.

“I will be constructing the temple. Proprietor of Emami Group of Companies, Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, NRI Lord Swaraj Paul of London, Aditya Birla and several other industrialists have expressed their desire to spend crores for building the temple,” he had told a presser then.

He further said the six-acre land, on which the new temple will be constructed is located between Chandrabhaga and Sun Temple and added that construction of the temple will start after Diwali, while claiming that he had been pursuing the same for the last 15 years since Jagmohan was the Union Tourism Minister.