The police confirmed that the `35 lakh in cash seized late on Saturday night from the van driven by a civil engineer, Mr Harish Anand Shetty, came from Satya Sai Baba’s personal chamber Yajur Mandir. The Yajur Mandir was opened on Thursday for the first time after the Baba’s death two months ago, and yielded a treasure trove including `11.5 crore in cash and 11 kg gold.
The police had intercepted the van after a brief chase at a toll gate near Kodikonda on the Puttaparthi-Bengaluru highway,
A car that was following the van sped away. The driver of the car, however, returned to the checkpost and told the police that he was Sohan Shetty, son of the retired Karnataka director-general of police, Mr K. Umanath Shetty. He wanted the money returned and also demanded that the police release Mr Harish Shetty. He escaped from the spot when police demanded an undertaking letter from him.
Mr Harish Shetty told the police that he was a driver employed in Prashanti Nilayam and did not know what the bag contained. He told the police one Shekhar, the driver of a trustee of the Satya Sai Central Trust, Mr V. Srinivasan, had given him the bag and told him to take it to Bengaluru.
He also said that the Yajur Mandir watchman, Pradhan, told him that an anonymous person would collect the bag after making a call to his mobile phone in Bengaluru.
Police found out that Mr Harish Shetty of Obili village, Udupi taluk in Karnataka and is a civil engineer. He had been working as a construction engineer for Shankarnarayana Construction, a company based in Mangalore. He came with his family to Puttaparthi on May 27 to construct Baba’s the samadhi under the aegis of L&T.
Police sources said that Mr Harish Shetty’s family has been residing in Plot No. 8 in Prema Sai Apartment in Puttaparthi from May 27. The district superintendent of police, Mr Shah Nawaz Qasim, said that Puttaparthi was the source of the cash and the accused would be produced before a court after interrogation.
Highly-placed sources said that the police have also arrested Mr Sohan Shetty near Bengaluru and nabbed Shekhar at Locherla village in Kottachervu mandal when he was on his way to Mangalore from Puttaparthi in a Karnataka State Road Transport bus.
All three were brought to Chilamatthur police station where Mr Harish Anand Shetty identified Shekhar as the person who handed over the bag to him.