Police seeks 'original will' of Osho from his Pune Ashram

Pune, Dec 16: Police has issued a notice to administrators of the city-based Osho Ashram asking them to produce original will of the late

, after a faction of his

accused some of the trustees by forging the document to claim the rights and income from Osho's intellectual

worth millions.

The notice was issued to authorities running the affairs of Osho International Meditation Resort situated at Koregaon Park here on an FIR lodged on December 8 by Yogesh Thakkar alias Swami Prem Geet on the behalf of Osho Friends Foundation (OFF), a rival group of Osho disciples.

The FIR accused six of the present administrators of the commune of preparing a fake will, dated October 15, 1989 by forging Osho's signature in order to claim the intellectual property rights of the mystique spiritual leader, whose literature is circulated worldwide. The notice, issued four days back, has asked the trustees to produce relevant original documents.

However, police has not received any response from the Ashram authorities. "We have not yet received a response to our notice from the Ashram authorities. We will be engaging government hand-writing experts to decide genuineness of the signature put on the will under reference," Koregaon police told PTI today.

The issue of Osho's legacy has remained alive even more than two decades.

The issue of Osho's legacy has remained alive even more than two decades after his demise in 1990. Since his death, the legal tussle has been on between Osho Friends Foundation and Osho International Foundation (Zurich) over inheritance of Osho's intellectual and other properties, with litigations pending in various Indian and foreign courts.

Osho International Foundation (OIF) (Zurich) whose trustees--five foreigners and an Indian--are reportedly in charge of the affairs of the Pune ashram.

According to the complainant, the OIF produced the will in question in a European court where rival group of Osho disciples had filed a complaint in 2010, challenging OLF's claim over Osho's trademarks in a case, which is still pending.

The OFF also approached the Bombay high court earlier this year seeking an inquiry into the alleged illegal transfer of Osho's intellectual property rights. Ashram authorities could not be reached for comments.

PTI