Anantapur (AP), June 25: The Magistrate Court in Hindupur has granted conditional bail to three people accused in connection with the seizure of unaccounted cash of Rs 35.5 lakh from Prashanti Nilayam.
The court yesterday asked the accused persons-Harishananda Shetty, Chandrasekhar Murthy and Sohan Shetty, currently lodged in Judicial remand not to leave the town and appear before the police on alternative days till further orders.
The trio had moved the court for bail on Thursday. Police initially arrested Harishnanda Shetty during checking at Kodikonda check post under Chilamanthur police station limits bordering Karnataka on June 18.
Another driver Chandrashekhar
Murthy and engineer Sohan Shetty were later arrested in connection with the seizure.
The cash was recovered a day after late Sathya Sai Baba’s personal chamber ‘Yajur Mandir’ was opened at Prashanti Nilayam in Puttaparthi and it was disclosed that it
contained 98 kg of gold, 307 kg of silver, apart from cash of Rs 11.56 crore.
Police on Wednesday issued notices to two members of the Sathya Sai Central Trust including R J Ratnakar (who is nephew of late Sathya Sai Baba) and V Srinivasan to question them in connection with the cash seizure.
The two trustees were asked to appear before the investigating officer within three days from Wednesday, though both of them had sought time from Anantapur
Superintendent of Police Shah Nawaz Qasim. Ratnakar would be questioned today while Srinivasan would be quizzed on Monday, police said.
—UNI