The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. The dispute is about Sathya Sai Baba's Involvement. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page before making changes.(June 2009)

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (June 2009)

On 6 June 1993, four individuals aged between 25 and 40 years went to Sai Baba's ashram armed with knives.^[1][2] As they approached they were stopped by four of Sai Baba's attendants.^[2] In the struggle that followed, two of his attendants were killed and the other two injured.^[2] Hearing the commotion Sai Baba escaped through a back stairway and raised the alarm.^[1][2] The assailants purportedly ran and locked themselves up in sai baba's bedroom. What followed is highly disputed. The police version claimed that when the room was opened the boys charged at the police with daggers so they were all shot dead.^[2] The police stated that they were charged at by the men, who were subsequently shot by the police.^[2]. Others, including V.P.B. Nair(Former Secretary to the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh), Sanal Edamaruku, and Basava Premanand, state the cornered assailants were deliberately shot.^[1]

[edit] Intruder Incident analysis

The incident was widely published in the Indian press.British Broadcasting Corporation's investigative journalist Tanya Dutta stated in the BBC documentary "The Secret Swami" that some police officers were arrested but were never charged and that the case was eventually dropped. She also opined that the Indian journalists were censored and their stories suppressed."^[1].

The police version claimed that when the purported assailants, who had locked themselves in a room, charged at the police with daggers they were all shot dead. A Central Investigation Department report stated that the official police report was riddled with lies and inconsistencies.^[1]. V.P.B. Nair (Former Secretary to the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh) also opined that the official police report contained inconsistencies.^[1].

One of India's leading newspapers, The Hindu, reported that commenting upon the killings at the time, the International Chairman of Sai Baba’s Organization and a member of the Sathya Sai Central Trust, Indulal Shah, stated to pressmen: “...the matter is purely internal and we do not wish to have any law enforcement agency investigating into it.” ^[3] Sathya Sai Baba in the Guru Purnima Discourse to his followers on July 3, 1993 after the incident stated that Jealousy and hatred were the reasons for the incident.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} BBC Documentary. Secret Swami
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Ruhela, Satya Pal (1997), Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the Press, 1972-1996, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., ISBN 9788175330412, pp. 106–107
3. ^ Quoted from a report in India's leading Daily The Hindu, 10-6-1993
4. ^ Guru Purnima Discourse, July 3, 1993, Keep Truth as Your Aim: Available online