Trouble brewing as followers allege Osho’s will was forged, Pune Police investigating
India Today
Aditi Pai, Pune, December 16, 2013 | UPDATED 23:17 IST
Is it the ‘real’ will or not is the question that the Pune Police and hundreds of Osho followers are asking. There’s trouble brewing within the fortified walls of the Osho International Meditation Resort once again with a section of Osho followers going to the police against the administrators and trustees of the Resort. Pune-based Osho Friends Foundation has filed a complaint with the police against six administrators alleging that they have created a forged will to use the income from the spiritual leader’s intellectual property. The Koregaon Park police have issued a notice to the authorities instructing them to produce the original copy of the will.
Two decades after the death of Rajneesh, or Osho as he was known to followers, the spiritual guru’s alleged will surfaced during court proceedings in the European Union.
The complainant, Yogesh Thakkar or Swami Prem Geet on behalf of Osho Friends Foundation, has alleged that three signature experts had stated that Osho’s signature on this alleged will is fake. He has also claimed that the will was created to use Osho’s intellectual property by a group of administrators and trustees. The city police are investigating the matter and are believed to take the will to government approved handwriting experts for verification.
There is a case pending against the administrators in the Bombay High Court over alleged illegal transfer of Osho’s intellectual property rights by the administrators.
In 2012, the Osho International Meditation Resort was in the news following an alleged land scam that was condemned by a few hundred followers the world over through an online campaign.