Pankaj Trivedi was threatened and he did lodgged complaint

Old story of 2003 - Swadhyay Parivar rift in the open: trustee attacked in 2003


Swadhyay Parivar rift in the open: trustee attacked
Express News Service

Vadodara, December 26: Internal dissension in the Swadhyaya Parivar established by the late Pandurang Shastri took a violent turn on Thursday, when 50-odd ‘Swadhayayees’ tried to assault former trustee Mahesh Shah in Vadodara.

Though Shah escaped unhurt, his employee Satish Patel, who is also president of BJP’s Waghodia unit, sustained injuries on his head and abdomen while trying to protect Shah. Patel is undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Jetalpur. He was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after his condition deteriorated on Friday.



Patel has lodged a criminal case pertaining to rioting and attempt to murder against 50 unidentified workers of the Swadhyaya Parivar in the Sayajigunj Police Station late on Thursday.

He said the incident took place around 6.30 pm outside Bombay Shopping Centre in Jetalpur. Shah’s office — Samson Group of Industries — is in this centre.

‘‘Shah had returned from Ahmedabad and was leaving for Harni Airport to catch a flight for Mumbai when 50-odd persons belonging to the rival faction of the Swadhyaya Parivar descended at the centre and tried to assault Shah. However, I became their target when I tried to protect him,’’ said Patel.

Shah has been most vocal against Jayshree Talwakar, who now heads the organisation after the death of its founder Pandurang Shastri. Shah was kicked out from the board of trustees soon after Talwalkar assumed the top post.

NRI murdered in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD, June 16, 2006
The Times of India


A Non-resident Indian was murdered by four unidentified persons on Thursday evening just outside a club, police said.

The victim identified as Pankaj Trivedi (43) was clubbed to death by the four assailants just after he stepped outside the Ellisbride Gymkhana, police said.

Officials said that the watchman of the club could have witnessed the incident as it was he who had raised an alarm about the attack.

Police is on the lookout for the assailants and are probing the reasons behind the murder.

Officials said that preliminary probe revealed that the victim was a resident of the United States and was in town recently.

"The victim had also feared for his life from some persons of a powerful religious sect. We are investigating the matter", an official said.

NRI Pankaj Trivedi from USA murdered in Ahmedabad-A Non-resident Indian was murdered by four unidentified persons on June 15, 2006 evening just outside a club. Some persons of a powerful religious sect may be behind this murder

Updated:
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NRI Pankaj Trivedi wrote letter to US secret service for help


VADODARA, June 16, 2005

On May 19, 2006, Mr. Trivedi had written a letter to the Resident Agent In-charge of US Secret Service based in Dayton, Ohio, seeking protection for himself and his family and addressed to Todd R Bagby, Trivedi wrote: ''Seeking appropriate protection for me and my family from the leader and fanatic followers of 'Devotional Association of Yogeshwar' also known as 'Swadhyay', whose unethical and illegal activities I have exposed. The head of the organisation is Jayashree Talwalkar a.k.a Didi.''

Trivedi further wrote: ‘‘On April 1, 2006, outside the Newark airport in New Jersey, four unknown people threatened me and asked me to stop all my activities related to exposing the unethical work of ‘Swadhyay’ organisation. This is one of the several incidents that myself and my family have faced in the US and India ever since I started asking questions openly about the motives and financial activities of this organisation.’’

Claiming that he was also being falsely implicated, Trivedi wrote: ‘‘My biggest concern is that they have become so desperate now that the media has started to take notice of their unethical work that they might fabricate evidence against me and my family.

‘‘One such incident happened last week. They had falsely written a letter to an unknown person under my name claiming that I had intentions of hurting President George Bush. Rightfully, concerned, Secret Service agents investigated me. While I gave you my full cooperation since I didn't write that letter and have absolutely no political interest anywhere, my concern is that Didi and her followers are so powerful and well-connected that they will continue to do such things to harass me.’’

Trivedi claimed in his letter that he was associated with the Swadhyay Parivar since 1972. ‘‘At that time, the main objective was to spread the philosophical aspect of Hindu religion. However, over the last five years, I found the organisation has been collecting millions of dollars and not a penny spent on the cause for which the money was collected. When I started asking questions, I was harassed,’’ Trivedi wrote, adding that:

‘‘During my investigations I found’’:
* After 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Devotional Association of Yogeshwar collected about 4.2 million dollars from people in the US. The founder’s niece claimed that they have built around 40,000 houses for the earthquake victims, but a UN report suggests that only about 10 per cent of the money collected was spent.
* In the UK, the organisation had collected about 310,097 pounds for that cause but only about 10 per cent of it was transferred to India. I have a letter from the Government of Gujarat that this organisation has not built any houses and have no ‘‘MoU’’ with it.
* They have forcefully closed ‘‘Bhavnigar Temple’’ in Ahmedabad, claiming that it is a property of the trust. However the money to build temple was collected from people and government. I have registered a legal case against them to reopen the temple, in Ahmedabad Civil Sessions Division Court and the case no. is 567/ 2002.
* There are several complaints against me in various courts in Gujarat. On March 8, 2006, the High Court of Gujarat threw away all the cases against me and asked the followers to stop harassing me.

‘‘If anything happens to me or my family in India or the USA, Jayshree Talwalkar (aka Didi), her husband Niwas Talwalkar and their followers are responsible for that,’’ Trivedi wrote in the letter.

On Friday, a close friend of Trivedi, Jagdish Shah, said: ‘‘I am aware of that letter. Pankajbhai had spoken to me in that regard.’’

‘‘Two months back, an attempt was made to attack Trivedi in Gondal. He had lodged a complaint with the police there,’’ Shah said.

According to Shah, ‘‘Pankajbhai had also informed the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of State for Home Amit Shah and Law Minister Ashok Bhatt about the irregularities done by Swadhyay members in using foreign funds for the earthquake. He had also expressed fear that he and his family are facing threat to to life.’’

Swadhyay members could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Meanwhile, the police are clueless about the absconding accused. Police said that while they were investigating the rivarly angle in Swadhyay, nobody had lodged a complaint in this regard. ‘‘So we are keeping the investigation open,’’ police said.

This is a news story which was published By Batuk Vora on 02/08/2002 At 17:39.
where this was feared that Mr. Pankaj Trivedi can be murdered.
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GUJARAT FACES ANOTHER BOUT OF VIOLENCE
By Batuk Vora 02/08/2002 At 17:39

Now is the turn of 'Spiritual Terrorists'

Ahmedabad: All those who have not yet fully fathomed the root cause
of the communal carnage in Gujarat that shook whole of India for as
long as three months, feel dumbfounded again while witnessing a sort
of "spiritual terrorism", this time launched allegedly by Dada
(Pandurang Athvale) and his dynastic successor Didi's followers
within Swadhyay Parivar against the dissidents, comprising most of
the Dada's 'old and pioneer' disciples.

Both the groups have filed police complaint at Ahmedabad against each
other alleging threats, violent intrusion, beating up and fear of
murder. Late night's incident on July 27 at Ahmedabad, when a few
dissidents, visitors from Mumbai, were roughed up, beaten and abused
while they were waiting for more supporters to come from North
Gujarat for a meeting.

"This has once again brought out their tactic of spiritual terror and
fascist method commanded from Parivar's present managers from Dada's
official headquarters, Nirmal Niketan at Mumbai," according to a
leading Swadhyay rebel Mahesh Shah, an industrialist, who had to go
underground following a vulgar and violent attack on him and some of
his colleagues. Didi is also now an accused in above police complaint.

A command issued from the headquarters was "Didi and now even Dada
want all members to close their minds and just do what they preach.
No religious song to be sung of anybody else, no worshipping of any
other idol, no attention to any other godly figure than that of Dada.
This is their command," Shah told this writer. He further said that
"so far they have not killed anybody but they certainly want to badly
hurt us and terrorize our families so that we do not raise our voice."

Pandurang Athvale is a Magsaysay and Templeton awards winner carrying
on his Swadhyay bhakti movement since more than 50 years in both
Gujarat and Maharashtra. Hundreds of simple farmers have donated part
of their cultivable land and its all products to Yogeshwar Bhagvan as
per Dada's ordain. One senior former colleague not willing to be
identified, told that Dada himself was now determined to corner all
the wealth and encouraging Didi to spread such a terror. Chronology
of such 'spiritual terror', as related to this writer by several of
those dissidents besides Mahesh Shah, run as follows:

"I have a thousand young chaps similar to LTTE fighters; They would
jump from the tall terrace of Oberoi Hotel here if I command and
would finish anyone without blinking their eyes if I command 'God
would never forgive such traitors'- these words did not come from any
Islamic Jihadi or terrorist but from Jayshree Talvalkar 'Didi,'
adopted daughter (Dada's brother's sibling) as quoted by Chitralekha,
a monthly magazine from Mumbai- July 8.

Following this Ahmedabad based Justice B.J.Diwan resigned and 13
other trustees, including Mahesh Shah, were kicked out from trusts.
Later, Diwan's resignation was rejected by other trustees (Mumbai's
Samkalin Daily- June 25). Diwan told the press that he was shocked to
hear Dada saying that all the trust wealth "belongs to me now."

Following phone threats and mail threats given to Ahmedabad based
Pankaj Trivedi and Mumbai based old colleagues of Dada like Hemraj
Ashar, Ramdas and Jagdish Shah, physical attacks started with beating
up of Dada?s old disciple Satish Jagjivan Rudhani at Rajkot by seven
people last October. Rebels told that Satish was actually close to
Dada and once taken to Japan with him on his trip. Associated for 21
years with Swadhyay Parivar, Satish was beaten up, according to
Rajkot daily Fulchhab and Sanj Samachar, by a gang of 8 Swadhyay
faithfuls from nearby Padadhari town by intruding in his bungalow and
beating him up mercilessly in naked condition in front of his wife by
pulling out the towel while the latter came out from the bathroom
"They were shouting at him 'why did you utter a word against Dada' "

Later in December 2001, Ahmedabad based Pankaj Trivedi received a
most abusive letter of threat to his life. The letter also mentioned
that his wife and daughter would be raped if he ever spoke against
Dada or Didi. Trivedi filed a police complaint against one Bakabhai
Patel.

Mahesh Rawal, a local follower attended a meeting called by the
dissidents on July 26 at Ahmedabad. Next morning, his house was
surrounded by 25 white-sari clad Swadhyay faithful ladies, carrying
placards as 'traitor' and 'turncoat' and spreading terror by shouting
slogans in his neighborhood.

One Devesh Pandit tried to convene a meeting of at his place in
Chicago, USA, and invited around 250 members for that purpose. But a
faithful of Dada Arjun Desai called 700 members commanding them not
to attend Devesh's meeting. Arjun Desai is the ex-president of
Chicago branch.

Indubhai Poptani, a poet based at Porbandar, was told to write a poem
(stuti) on Didi. He refused by saying that how to write it when he
had no devotional feeling for Didi. He received a threat to his life
in front of his wife who suffered a heart attack. She was removed to
a hospital. Popatani's Bhav poems on Dada were quite popular among
vast mass of followers in Saurashtra. Dada had even gifted Rs 10,000
to his kids for 'sweets' on his visit to his house. "May be he
thought this would silence me", Popatani said.

Prof. S.K.Joshi of Jalgaon in Maharashtra was one of the close
associate of Dada for many years. Dada had even once named him as a
'role model' for all other Swadhyay Parivar members. He said "what
actually happened was that I had organized Bhil adivasi farmers to
grow fruit orchards in and around 28 Gnaeshwar Vriksh Mandirs (tree
temple). It gave an income of about Rs 1 crore. Dada did not allow
even rotten fruits to be eaten by Bhil kids. I questioned this
practice and since that time I was hounded with 'spies' watching my
home for eight days in three shifts and later shouting S.K. Murdabad
slogans! I am still living under constant fear. But I am determined
to carry on that noble activity in my own way with cooperation from
at least 200 other followers meeting with me every week. I have found
that both Dada and Didi want nothing else than lots and lots of
income which nobody could question about its use"

Incidentally, Sadhana, an RSS monthly organ in Gujarati, has highly
lauded in a picturesque article Swadhyay Parivar's Vriksha Puja (tree
worship) movement as a Hindu cultural tradition. It has not spoken a
word about what the senior Dada followers now talk about Dada and
Didi. All the four attempts to reach Didi and even Dada for comments
failed.

Some observers see this as a slow but sure attempt of penetration by
RSS Parivar into the millions-strong equally Hindu adherent Swadhyay
Parivar, having fat asset accounts in around 100 trusts and
properties, all over Gujarat and Maharashtra, besides millions of
dollars in London and America. Ex-chief justice of Gujarat High Court
B. J. Diwan, a close former colleague of Dada and member of one of
the trusts, told recently to the Gujarati media that "they have Rs
200 crore in trust accounts and Rs 500 crores in immovable property
account, which is now claimed by Dada himself as his own, and not of
God as he used to tell earlier." Another old colleague says "they may
not have anything less than Rs 1000 crores."

"Perhaps, RSS wants Swadhyay Parivar to support its own communally
surcharged political activities. Actually, Dada had once celebrated
RSS founder Hegdevar's birth anniversary," said another senior Dada
follower. THE END