Satyam Sekhar Roula, ‘son’ of controversial godman Srimad Sarathi Dev alias Sarathi Baba, who had gone missing since the day the Baba hit the headlines for his alleged nefarious activities, was arrested by Crime Branch police from Mumbai and brought back to Odisha today.
A two-member team of the Crime Branch located him in Mumbai after tracking his mobile phone and arrested him yesterday, ADG Bijay Kumar Sharma said. The team, with Satyam, arrived at the Biju Patnaik airport here on Indigo flight No 533 at about 1 pm today, he said.
Soon after arriving this morning, Satyam was whisked him away to the Crime Branch headquarters in Cuttack for interrogation, sources in the agency said.
Crime Branch sleuths believe Satyam is a prize catch because he could provide a wealth of information about the illegal and immoral activities of his ‘father’ Sarathi Baba.
The bulk of the monetary collection, it may be noted, was done by the Baba in the name of Satyam Charitable Trust, a trust formed in the name of Satyam.
Scrutiny of the bank accounts of Sarathi Baba and his associates yesterday revealed that Satyam had Rs 25 lakh in just one account at the Tinimuhani branch of Allahabad Bank in Kendrapara. A locker opened his name at the College Road branch of State Bank of India, however, did not yield much.
Satyam, allegedly the adopted son of Sarathi Baba, rode fancy cars and led a flashy lifestyle though he is just 20 and has no known source of income. A Fortuner SUV, believed to have been left behind by him, was found at the parking lot of Apollo Hospital here last week.
Prasanta Patnaik