PUTTAPARTI: There was an attempt on the life of Satya Sai Baba on June 7 at his Prashant Nilayam headquarters in Puttaparthi in Anantapur district.

The Baba had a narrow escape as his aides refused entry to the assailants and themselves became targets of attack.

The four assailants stabbed four aides near the Baba’s chamber. While Sai Baba’s personal assistant Radhakrishnaswmy and a student Sai Kumar Mahajan died in the hospital, Anil Patel and Vishan Bhakta were operated upon.

The assailants P.K Suresh Kumur (an M.Com student), Suresh Shantaram Prabhu (working to Merchant Navy), K.Sairam M.Com final year student and Jagannatham (former student) were all inmates of the ashram. Around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night, they tried to enter Prashant Nilayam. Their entry led to a scuffle. The assailants pulled out knives and inflicted injuries on the four devotes, Hearing the com motion, somebody sounded the siren and soon the police rushed in. But they too were assaulted by the desperados, The police opened fire, killing all the four on the spot.

It is reported that the assailants were nursing a grouse as they were denied jobs in the Prashanti Nilayam. A team of crime branch sleuths Tuesday started a probe into Sunday night’s attack on the Satya Sai Baba.

Meanwhile, the crime branch of the stale police have taken up de tailed investigations into the: al tempt on the life of Sai Baba.

The crime branch team, headed by K.Ramchandraiah, D.LG, and Gopalakrishna Raju, SP, would also probe into the reports that a bottle of potassium cyanide with foreign marking and pairs of surgical gloves were found in the room of one of the assailants, who was staying at the commune.

Relatives of two assailants were being interrogated, the brother of one of the assailants was absconding after the incident.

All the assailants have been staying at the complex fora long time, police said

The saffron robed Sai Baba, who has a large and high profile following, including ministers, senior officials, and industrialists is believed to have miracle powers. The claim is denied by rationalists.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 11, 1993