Nirmal Baba offers to undergo lie detector test

New Delhi : Controversial godman Nirmal Baba has said he was ready to undergo a lie detector test to prove that he was not duping his devotees. Addressing the 'samagam' (gathering) of his devotees at Talkatora Stadium here on Thursday, the baba replied to all charges being levelled against him and his followers, and offered the challenge to undergo a lie detector test.

Nirmal Baba said "the first plan (of  my opponents) failed when it was alleged that I had asked people to deposit their shiv lingams in temples. They wanted to rouse religious sentiments. Shiv Lingam is sacred and one should offer water or milk with full sincerity and sanctity."

"This baba has told his devotees the worth of the power of Shiva, who is present in all living beings. The devotees who have come here know, the shiv lingams they keep in their homes are not being properly cared for. So I told them, if a shiv lingam is lying uncared for in your homes, it will cause disrespect to Shiva. I advised them it would be better to offer the shiv lingams to the temples. After all, Shiva is the God of gods. Try to understand the force of Shiva."

On the issue of duping his devotees of their hard-earned money, Nirmal Baba challenged his opponents to subject his devotees to lie detector tests. "The truth will then come out in the open", he said. He also offered to undergo a lie detector test himself. Meanwhile, cases against Nirmal Baba are mounting in law courts in different parts of the country. Inflow of donations from his devotees to his bank accounts, particularly in Jharkhand, has declined to a trickle.

In Uttar Pradesh, SSP Jhansi has ordered police to interrogate Nirmal Baba, after Dinesh Kumar Mishra, an assistant district government  advocate (criminal) complained that his sister died four days after she was advised by the baba following a severe stomach ache.The lady did not go for medical treatment, while the govt advocate used to send "ten percent" (dashvand) of his income to Nirmal Baba's bank account.  He had also booked tickets for the samagam of the baba in June.

In Nagpur, members of the All India Andha Shraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (Committee for eradication of superstitions) met the Nagpur Police commissioner Dr Ankush Dhanvijay and demanded probe into the activities of Nirmal Baba. "People believing in superstitious practices are sending ten per cent of their hard earned income to Nirmal Baba, who is spending this money on his own lavish lifestyle.  If the baba really has supernatural power, the government should set up a team of scientists to check his supernatural powers", said Harish Deshmukh, national secretary of the committee.

The Police Commissioner said, he has received the complaint from the committee members and action will be taken on the complaint. In Ranchi, an NGO Youth for India has filed a PIL against Nirmal Baba in the Jharkhand High court alleging that the baba has amassed huge amount of money by duping his devotees, and the matter should be probed by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department. The PIL filed by Archit Kumar called for checking the sources of this money.