Pune: The Bombay High Court (HC) was informed on Thursday that the will of late spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh, which is available in India is fake.
The petitioners have submitted a report given by a government approved forensic science laboratory in New Delhi, to prove their point.
The Pune Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is investigating the case of alleged fraud and misappropriation of funds of the Osho Rajneesh Trust. The FIR was registered in this regard in December 2013 with Koregaon Park police station. As there was no progress in the investigation, Pune-resident Yogesh Thakker, a disciple of Osho, filed a writ petition in the HC in 2016.
On Thursday, during hearing in the matter before the bench of justice Revati Mohite-Dere and justice R M Savant, the petitioners submitted the forensic lab report. The judges came down heavily on the EOW for not investigating the case properly and submitting reports as if it is an annual report of a private company.
The government pleader submitted that the original copy of the will is not available anywhere, hence it is difficult to find out if the signature of Osho is fake or genuine from the photocopy of the will.
The HC has ordered EOW to submit their reply about the FSL report submitted by the petitioners.
Police have also informed the court that a letter of request was sent to a court in Spain, through Ministry of External Affairs, for securing the will purportedly made and signed by Osho Rajneesh and other related documents, but even there the original copies are not available.
The next hearing will take place on August 1. The HC has asked EOW to submit proper progress report about the investigation.
"We are not satisfied with your report. You take into consideration this Delhi report and also ascertain through some expert agencies whether this signature is genuine or not. File a detailed progress report telling us all that you have achieved in the case on a day to day basis," the bench said.
When contacted EOW Police Inspector Swati Desai, the investigating officer, refused to comment on the case.
Thakker claimed that trustees of the Switzerland-based Osho International Foundation had forged Rajneesh’s signatures on a fake will to transfer his intellectual property rights in the foundation’s name.
He had lodged the FIR against six administrators of Osho Ashram. The police had subsequently transferred the probe to its EOW which has maintained that, in all probability, the original will has been destroyed.
(With PTI inputs)