Work on to retrieve Osho’s original Will: Police to Bombay High Court

The police on Monday informed the Bombay high court that it has written a letter of request (LR) to the home department, requesting it to retrieve the original copy of the will made by spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh.

In the meantime, two individuals have filed applications seeking to intervene in this matter, with the division bench of Justice N.H. Patil and Justice P.D. Naik posting the matter for hearing for a week later.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Yogesh Thakkar, who claimed to be a follower of Osho since 1979. Alleging that the trustees of Osho International Foundation forged the signature of Osho in his will, he has sought an investigation into the matter by the CBI.

Earlier, the court had reprimanded the Pune police for its delay in investigating the complaint. The court had come down heavily on the police because it had informed the judges that the will in dispute was sent to a handwriting expert for verification in 2014, but the report has not been received till date.

Mr Thakkar in his petition has claimed that he had written a letter to the commissioner of police, Pune, in December 2012. Though an FIR was lodged on the basis of that letter in 2013, no action had been taken on the complaint till date. Following non-action, he moved the high court seeking transfer of the case from the Pune police to the CBI. Rajneesh had died on January 19, 1990 in his Pune-based ashram.

The petition has alleged that six persons forged the signatures of Osho in the fake will to acquire the rights to his intellectual property, which were worth millions of dollars.

In his petition, Mr Thakkar has cited the certificates of several experts who have claimed that the alleged will was forged and counterfeit. He has annexed the copies of certificates of experts from both India as well as foreign countries in his petition.