Court rejects HP Govt’s application to keep Rabgay Choesang in police custody

KARMAPA’S OFFICE CONFIDENT THAT 'WILD SPECULATIONS' WILL BE DISPELLED, CLARIFIES THAT LAND PURCHASE WAS ALWAYS ABOVE BOARD 
GANGTOK, 06 Feb: In a statement released late last evening, the Karmapa Office of Administration announced that the Himachal Pradesh State government's application to retain Rabgay Choesang in police custody was rejected, and Rabgay Choesang, also known as “Shakti Lama”, office staff member at the Sidhbari Monastery who was taken into arrest following raids which led to the recovery of around Rs. 8 crores in cash, has now been transferred into judicial custody.
“We are aware that a thorough investigation is needed to arrive at the truth. We remain confident that the Indian justice system will arrive at that truth and dispel all the wild speculations that are now circulating. We will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation, and we look forward to having our monk home soon,” the Karmapa Office of Administration conveys in its latest statement.
The statement also reiterates that the “ongoing” purchase of land by the Karmae Garchen Trust “is and has been in full compliance with Indian law”.
“It is in no way a benami land transaction. The land was being purchased by the Karmae Garchen Trust in its own name, in a transaction that had been duly disclosed to the Kangra District Collector's office. The DC's office issued a no-objection certificate as well as an essentiality certificate. As such, the Trust had been granted all preliminary approvals required in order to proceed to the next step in acquiring the land,” the Office informs.
It adds that the effort to purchase land to build a residence and monastery for the Karmapa has consistently been reported to and approved by the appropriate government authorities and was also discussed open in the press as recently as in October 2010 and as far back as in March, 2006.