Currency seizure: Police grill Karmapa, search trust offices

Himachal Director General of Police D S Minhas along with senior police officers inspected the Gyato monastery and the ashram at Sidhbari near Dharamshala on Friday evening and talked with the Karmapa. The Karmapa was asked about the foreign currency seized and as expected he said it was received through offerings, said Minhas. He said the Karmapa was not under arrest or house arrest.

Searches continued at the offices of the Karma Garchen Trust and so far Rs 7 crore in currencies of over two dozen countries, including China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, German, has been seized.

Asked about the seizure, Karma Chunyappa, deputy general secretary of the Karmapa, asserted that the financial dealings of the monastery were transparent. "We have a rich history of public service made possible through financial dealings that are entirely transparent. We will certainly answer all the questions that the press and public have but for now we request you to allow us to concentrate and comply fully with the investigations that are underway," he said.

The DGP said that some documents about land transactions had also been recovered and these were being scrutinised to find out whether there was a nexus between Tibetans and some local people indulging in benami land deals.

All non-agriculturists including bonafide Himachalis were barred from purchasing any land in Himachal without the permission of the government under section 118 of HP tenancy and Land Reforms Act and Tibetans having refugee status were not entitled to buy any land. However, some Tibetans have acquired properties in Himachal and the high court had issued notices to Tibetans in this regard.

Meanwhile, Himachal Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the state government would share every information about the Karmapa with the Enforcement Directorate and security agencies.

"Certainly, the government of India must be having more information about Karmapa's activities and the state government would abide by the direction of the Union government as the matter is linked to internal security," he told mediapersons after launching a heli-taxi at Annandale helipad in Shimla.

Asked about the seizure of huge amounts of foreign currency, the CM said it was for the Union government to take appropriate steps to trace the source and route through which the money was reaching the monastery and the ashram.

Dhumal said the home minister has convened a meeting of all the chief ministers on February 1 to discuss issues related to internal security and the Karmapa issue would also crop up in the meeting. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will also be present in the meeting.

The police had raided the monastery after information that black money was being used for transaction of benami land deals, sources said.