Nellore: Police investigating into the case of a fake baba in Nellore rural police station limits have almost zeroed in on two persons who took away nearly Rs 1.3 crore of the Rs 3.9 crore collected from public by offering higher returns on investment. Police booked cases against Nellore-based self proclaimed Baba, identified as Ananthabotla Sudhakar Rao, and three others in February for duping public.
The Baba had launched a 108 days long Dattathreya Ista Kamyardha Yagam in December at his home in Navlac garden at Nellore and sold Namavali books at the rate of Rs 1000 per book to devotees by offering Rs 1,400 if they return it after writing the names and Manthras of the god (Dattathreya). Devotees bought the books to get sizable return fortheir investment. The Baba told them that he will deposit the completed books in the homam (holy fire) and this would make them rich and free from all the evils.
The baba had attempted suicide by consuming pesticide when devotees pressurised him for payment after some people working under him including a woman Vasavi allegedly took away the money collected from the public. The baba is still undergoing treatment in the hospital and police have information on the whereabouts of Vasavi and almost zeroed in on two more persons identified as Narayana Reddy and Bhaskar, who took away the money.
Sources in police said, the Baba had plans to collect Rs 100 crore from the public before the completion of Yagam on March 30 but they ran out of the cash as the withdrawals outnumbered the deposits by February first week. Nearly Rs 2.9 crore was returned to the public by that time. To overcome the situation, Baba had announced a gold coin free to those buying books on the occasion of Mahasivaratri and this had helped him to get back Rs 1.2 crore from the same people who withdrew the money by February second week. However people living close to his house suspected foul play and raised an alarm after they found the Baba and his men shifting gunny bags containing cash from the house. Police officials expressed confidence in nabbing the aides.
