CBI to grill Ramdev over missing guru

The CBI will soon examine Baba Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna as part of its probe into the disappearance of Mahant Shankar Dev, mentor of the yoga guru.

The CBI will soon examine Baba Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna as part of its probe into the disappearance of Mahant Shankar Dev, mentor of the yoga guru.

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Dev disappeared under mysterious circumstances in July 2007 from Haridwar, Uttarakhand. “A CBI team will soon go to Haridwar to kick-start the probe into Dev’sdisappearance. It will question Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna, whose then mentor was Shankar Dev, among other persons,” said a CBI source.

The police, which had probed the disappearance, have handed over to the CBI the documents and articles of evidentiary value in the case. Shankar Dev, who was the chief patron of Divya Yog Mandir Trust, had allegedly gone for his morning walk on July 14, 2007, but never returned to his Kankhal ashram.

The agency will seek details on the trust’s financial transactions, including those pertaining to revenue, during the months preceding and following Shankar Dev’s disappearance, said the source. The CBI will also verify the authenticity of a letter allegedly left behind by Dev in which he had attributed his decision to depart from the ashram to pain caused by his ailments including spinal tuberculosis and financial troubles.