Art of Living returns land to farmer

Bangalore: Giving in to pressure, Art of Living (AoL) officials on Wednesday, reportedly returned one acre of land to Krishnappa, a farmer, who is said to be its real owner, after a demonstration was staged by journalist, Agni Sridhar. A Foundation spokesman however denied claims that land had been returned. Earlier on Tuesday, Sridhar had announced that he would stage a demonstration explaining how AoL officials encroached on surrounding land. AoL officials had said that they would lend a helping hand and provide food and shelter to the protesters.

However, a police team led by Ramanagaram DySP Devraj ensured a peaceful demonstration which started around 11 am and ended at 2 pm after AoL officials reportedly returned the land to Krishnappa of Oodina Palya, sources said.

Agni Sridhar and the AoL management had been at loggerheads after AoL filed a complaint alleging that they had been receiving threatening calls demanding ransom. They claimed that the caller demanded Rs 42 crore and threatened to defame AoL if they did not accede to the demand.

The case took an interesting turn as Agni Sridhar’s mobile number was mentioned in the copy of the complaint which however did not mention his name. Agni Sridhar later denied the allegations and said that he was only trying to get back 15 acres of land, which actually belonged to an NRI and was later bought by AoL.

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