JerrodOverstreet at 07:53, 7 December 2025

2025-12-07T07:53:05Z

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{{Short description|Attempted assassination on Sathya Sai Baba}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
On June 6, 1993 there was an assassination attempt on [[Sathya Sai Baba]]'s life. While reports vary, the official narrative is that four men (devotees) entered Sai Baba's [[Prasanthi Nilayam|residence]] under the premise of wanting to give him a [[telegram]]. When their path was obstructed, they stabbed two of the Baba's assistants to death, injuring two others.<ref name="saiescape">{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19930630-satya-sai-baba-escapes-attack-811237-1993-06-29 |title=Sathya Sai Baba escapes attack|date=29 June 1993|last=Rai|first=S |work=[[India Today]]}}</ref> Hearing the commotion Sai Baba sounded the alarm and police were dispatched to his residence. Upon arriving, the police said the four youths had locked themselves in Sai Baba's living room and the officers tried to break the door down. "The four were shot when they opened the door and attacked the police."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/who-is-sri-sathya-sai-baba-101102|title=Who is Sri Sathya Sai Baba?|agency=Press Trust of India|date=24 April 2011|publisher=[[NDTV]]|access-date=25 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/religion-obituaries/8471342/Sathya-Sai-Baba.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/religion-obituaries/8471342/Sathya-Sai-Baba.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Religion Obituaries; Satya Sai Baba |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=24 April 2011 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="saidna">{{Cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sathya-sai-baba-escaped-murder-attempt_1535839 |title=Sathya Sai Baba escaped murder attempt|date=25 April 2011|last=Madhusoodan|first=M K |work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]}}</ref><ref name="saimystery">{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19930715-sai-baba-assassination-attempt-by-disciples-remains-mystery-811306-1993-07-14 |title=Sai Baba assassination attempt by disciples remains mystery|date=14 July 1993|last=Rai|first=S |work=[[India Today]]}}</ref><ref name=bbcd>BBC Documentary. Secret Swami</ref><ref name=Ruhela>Ruhela, Satya Pal (1997), Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the Press, 1972-1996, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., {{ISBN|978-81-7533-041-2}}, pp. 106–107</ref> Sai Baba remained unharmed during the incident,<ref name="saiescape"/> and later in a discourse cleared things up saying there was no bid on his life.<ref name="saidna"/>

Many aspects of the event remain ambiguous and unresolved. Inspector Reddy (of the [[Puttaparthi]] recalls thinking Swami (Sai Baba) was dead and telling his officers to shoot but could never explain the big time gap between the four men locking themselves in the living room and their shooting. Some say that influential persons in the ashram ordered their deaths. Janakiram, Sai Baba's brother, told [[India Today]], "If we allowed them (the assailants) to live, some Ram Jethmalani-like lawyer would have come and rescued them."<ref name="saimystery"/>

Two of the initial assailants escaped and were captured a month later. They told investigators "that they had no intention of killing Baba but to inform him about some trust members who wanted to usurp his powers."<ref name="saidna"/> Anantpur Superintendent of Police K. Subbanna, said: "It is obvious that this is a conspiracy with a very big dimension."<ref name="saiescape"/>

Another concern for Sai Baba's immediate safety arose on January 17, 2002 when an unknown man (later identified as Somasundaram) entered the Whitefield Ashram with an air pistol. He was apprehended by volunteers and handed over to police without incident.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/sai-baba-escapes-murder-attempt-at-darshan/cid/905018|title=SAI BABA ESCAPES MURDER ATTEMPT AT DARSHAN |author=HABIB BEARY|date=17 January 2002|work=Telegraph India|access-date=17 January 2002}}</ref>

Mr. Indulal Shah, chief functionary of the [[Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust]] was quoted in the press as stating "the matter is purely internal and we do not wish to have any law enforcement agency investigating into it."<ref>[[The Hindu]], 10-6-1993</ref> However, it is currently unknown whether the murdered men were targets or assailants.<ref name="saimystery"/>

==Intruder incident analysis==
The incident was widely published in the Indian press. In the [[BBC]] [[documentary]] it was stated that "some police officers were arrested but were never charged and that the case was eventually dropped."<ref name=bbcd/> The police version claimed that the assailants charged at the police with daggers and were all shot dead. A [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] report stated that the official police report was riddled with lies and inconsistencies.<ref name=bbcd/> V.P.B. Nair (Former Secretary to the Home Minister of [[Andhra Pradesh]]) also opined that the official police report contained inconsistencies.<ref name=bbcd/>

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prashanthi Nilayam}}

[[Category:Murder in India]]
[[Category:Crime in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:1993 murders in India]]

1993 murders in Prasanthi Nilayam - Revision history

JerrodOverstreet at 07:53, 7 December 2025