Yes, money was being carried to me

PUTTAPARTI:  Sticking to his version that the Rs 35-lakh cash seized by the Anantapur police was meant for building the samadhi of Sathya Sai Baba, Satya Sai Central Trust member V Srinivasan told the investigators on Monday that ‘‘there was no other intention’’.Srinivasan was questioned by police officials for nearly seven hours during which his statement was recorded.Sources told Express that Srinivasan admitted that the money was being transported to him by his driver Chandrasekhar. ‘‘The money was taken out of Yajurveda Mandir. Is anything wrong if money is carried to me? The money was given by Baba’s devotees from Tamil Nadu for construction of samadhi,’’ he said.Srinivasan was asked over 40 questions including the one whether there was theft in the Yajurveda Mandir. He denied any theft there.‘‘Now that we have the statements of all concerned, we will compare them for any contradictions. If there is, we may register a case of misappropriation of money,’’ police officials said.Penukonda DSP Kolar Krishna, who is the investigating officer, took Srinivasan to Book Trust Bhavan at Prashanti Nilayam around 10.30 am for grilling. They came out only at 5:30 pm.Asked what Srinivasan had been asked, the DSP refused to divulge on the pretext that the matter was sub judice. ‘‘I am not at liberty to disclose anything.’’ the DSP said. Asked if Srinivasan would be questioned again, he said, ‘‘if necessary’’.Meanwhile, Srinivasan, who tried to evade the waiting mediapersons at Prashanti Nilayam, said that he would inform the media about what happened during questioning in detail later and hurriedly left the place.It is learnt that Srinivasan had a discussion with trust members justice Bhagavati, Indulal Shah, SV Giri, Trust Council member Naganand for nearly half an hour prior to his interrogation by the police.RJ Ratnakar and V Srinivasan were issued notices by the police in connection with the seizure of Rs 35.5 lakh in cash at the Kodikonda Checkpost on June 18. Rathnakar was questioned for nearly five hours on Saturday.On Monday evening Hindupur income tax officer Sivanand questioned the three accused in the case _ Harish Nandasetty, Sohan Setty and Chandrasekhar _ for nearly an hour. However, he refused to divulge the outcome of the quizzing and merely said that he would be submitting his report to the government.School students marched through the streets of Puttaparti urging mediapersons not to telecast news damaging the reputation of the town and the Baba. They carried placards and banners ‘‘Save the peace of Puttaparti, its sanctity’’.