'Sai Baba recovering, might be home in 2 weeks'

Puttaparthi: Hours after former TTD board chairman DK Audikesavulu Naidu had held Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust responsible for the present condition of Sathya Sai Baba, the trust came out with a statement on Saturday that Baba was recovering fast and would be shifted to his own residence in about 15 days.

The trust said it was confident of Sathya Sai Baba's recovery within 15 days.

"The swami will be shifted to his own residence and the doctors are preparing to shift him after 15 days. If needed, there will always be medical help at hand. With the prayers of all his devotees Sathya Sai is recovering," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, at a press conference in Chittoor, Naidu said that the Baba, distressed over the irregularities taking place in the trust, was taken ill. Instead of caring for him, Satyajit, his caretaker, in collusion with two others Syamsundar and Dr Iyer, saw to it that Baba suffered.

Satyajit and his men had failed to take care of Baba when he suffered a fracture in the leg two years ago.

They have denied him food since then and kept him on just ganji (rice gruel). They have even restricted his accessibility to others. That was not all. They administered sleeping pills to Baba without his knowledge. Devotees from various places in the country as well as abroad had to turn back disappointed when they could not meet the Baba several times.

When questioned, there was no response from Satyajit and Co, Audikesavulu said that he was treasurer of the Sathya Sai Trust for some time and had, along with retired IPS officers HJ Dora and Ramanjaneyulu, and senior bureaucrat Paramahamsa questioned the trust members about the reported irregularities, but there was no response.

On March 27, Baba fainted a couple of times and had a cardiac arrest, but his caretakers did not respond in time and took him to hospital after much delay. What treatment is being given to him is being kept secret.

Doctors are only giving assurances that he is recovering but are not giving the clear and correct picture of his health condition. Audikesavulu claimed that minister Geeta Reddy, who says she is an ardent devotee of Sathya Sai Baba, was aware of all that was going on behind the scenes and demanded that she come out with what really was happening to Baba.