The treasure unearthed on Wednesday after an inventory in the living quarters of the late Sathya Sai Baba at his Whitefield ashram, 25 km from here, did not quite match the riches found at his Puttaparthi ashram in Andhra Pradesh.
Yet, the five trustees who had come in to complete the job took nearly six hours to take stock of the jewellery and cash inside four cupboards and a storeroom adjoining his living quarters at the ashram.
Shortly after 3.30 p.m. when an employee of the Sathya Sai Central Trust emerged from the inner chambers with a nondescript metal box and a briefcase, an official spokesperson announced that 6.09 kg of gold, 245.368 kg of silver and Rs. 80,50,500 in cash were found. The total worth of the gold and silver, at the current bullion rates, is estimated to be nearly Rs. 3 crore. The treasure discovered at the Puttaparthi ashram was estimated at around Rs. 37 crore.
Escorted by Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East Division) P.C. Harsha, the employee got into a car and was driven to the Kadugodi branch of Canara Bank, which is right next to the ashram. It was later learnt that the briefcase contained the cash and the metal box contained the gold. According to Trust spokesperson Anantharaman, a decision on what to do with the silver will be taken later. He also said that the tax on the items would be paid without fail.
Bangalore (Urban) Deputy Commissioner M.K. Aiyappa, who represented the State government as an observer during the stock-taking process, said the gold was mostly in the form of jewellery and coins. Silver, he said, was in the form of cutlery and idols.
As in the Puttaparthi ashram, the valuables were packed in plastic covers and in jewellery boxes. Some of the items were also labelled and had the names of the donors and the dates of donation on them.
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