In yet another setback for beleaguered godman Asaram Bapu, the Himachal Pradesh Government ordered a probe on Thursday into the alleged land grab by him in Paonta Sahib for his ashram.
Acting on a complaint, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Wednesday ordered a probe and has asked the local administration to submit a report and remove all encroachments by the ashram. The district administration will soon examine details of the land and what it is being used for.
The large tracts of forest land that had been taken over by the ashram in Kunja Madralia village in Paonta Sahib sub-division in Sirmaur district, near Haridwar, is under scrutiny. The ashram was running a printing press and a pharma unit there.
Sources said that some land in the village was donated to the ashram by followers of Asaram but the ashram expanded further into the forest land which the villagers opposed.
Earlier, the Congress Government in Himachal Pradesh had taken over land allotted to yoga guru Baba Ramdev for setting up a Yogpeeth branch, citing violation of statutory provisions by the previous BJP regime.