No clean chit to Karmapa: Himachal CM Dhumal

Shimla, Feb 12 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Saturday said that no clean chit has been given to the Karmapa Lama, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, in a financial irregularities case.

"We can't give him (the Karmapa) a clean chit as probe by central agencies is still on. Karmapa has neither been given a clean chit nor held guilty," Dhumal told reporters here.

"The Centre is probing into the huge foreign currency recovered during raids from the Gyuto Monastery. The state government had never made any accusation against him and therefore the question of giving clean chit does not arise," he said.

"The basic thing that we spoke to the media and what we are saying is that the seizure of Indian and foreign currencies from the monastery, who does it belong to? And has there been a sort of a deal? The investigations are on. So, nobody has been judged as the culprit neither has anyone been given a clean chit," he added.

Reports of the Lama being given a clean chit has been doing the rounds after an official from the monastery told the media that the state has not yet declared whether the Lama is at fault.

On January 27, the police had raided the Gyuto Tantric Monastery in Dharamsala, and recovered currencies of at least 25 countries worth over rupees 60 million.

Media reports said security agencies apprehended that the Karmapa Lama is a part of a plan of the Chinese to control Buddhist monasteries, from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

The police have detained Gompo Tsering, the personal secretary of Lama, and arrested Rabjaychojan, also known as Shakti Lama, a close aide of Karmapa Lama and the monastery's treasurer. (ANI)