Huge amount of foreign currency was seized during raids at a transit home of 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje at Sidhbari near Dharamsala on Thursday.

The police on Thursday raids seized foreign and Indian currency worth more than R 3 crore. The money was found in four large suitcases.

ADGP (Law and Order), S R Mardi, said the exact amount of currency notes of different countries recovered during the raids at Gyuto Monastery will be known after counting them.

As per reported by PTI, a close aide of Karmapa, Rabjaychojan alias Shakti Lama, was arrested and interrogated about the source of the money stacked in the monastery.

The money was in currencies of China, Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, Thailand and several other countries and so far six suitcases had been unearthed, police said.

A sum of R 4 lakh in Indian currency was also seized and more searches were likely, police said.

The raids followed arrest of two persons Asutosh and Sanjay with R 1 crore at Una on Wednesday.

The money was reportedly drawn from the Majnoo Ka Tila branch of a private sector bank in Delhi and the police was interrogating the duo.

Karmapa was reportedly inside the monastery when the raids were conducted but there was no word from him or any of his aides about the raids and the money seized.

Police said it was yet to be ascertained that to whom the money belonged to and what was its source.

Kangra Police have sent its teams to Dharamsala, Ambala, Delhi and some other places and also informed the Enforcement Department (ED) and Income department about the seizures.

The Karmapa is the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four sects of Buddhism. He is considered the third most important Tibetan religious head after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.

The Karmapa fled Tibet and sought refuge in India in January 2000. Ever since, he has mostly lived in the Gyuto Tantric monastery in Sidhbari near Dharamsala – the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

 

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