SIT formed to probe allegations against Art of Living, says Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister

Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara with leaders of Dalit organizations in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo credit: special arrangement

The Karnataka government has constituted an 11-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Bengaluru Regional Commissioner Amlan Aditya Biswas to investigate the alleged occupation of government land by the Art of Living ashram and its affiliates in suburban Bengaluru.

According to a government order issued on July 17, the SIT has three months to complete its investigation and submit a report to the government. According to the notification, which cites a survey by the Deputy Director of Land Records in October 2025, about 290 acres of government land in the area was found to be encroached upon.

The identified areas are in Kaggalipura, BM Kaval, Agara and Uttari villages. The inquiry was ordered under the provisions of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act.

Dalit land

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, who also holds the revenue portfolio, revealed on Tuesday that the SIT will also look into allegations that AoL, founded by Sri Sri Ravishankar, owned 150 acres of land granted to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) persons.

The Deputy Chief Minister told reporters that he had informed Dalit community leaders who met him on Tuesday that the SIT would look into the issue.

“Several complaints were received earlier. Based on these complaints, an SIT was constituted by the revenue department to investigate the matter,” said Dr. Parameshwara.

Pending posts

Speaking about filling the vacancies, Dr. Parameshwara said steps would be taken to fill the pending vacancies in universities and other major government departments. He assured this to leaders of various Dalit organizations who met him in Bengaluru.

“Our government is filling up 72,000 seats in which SC and ST candidates will get reservation as per law. However, several seats reserved for reserved categories have remained vacant. These backlog seats, including those in universities and major departments, will be filled. The matter will be taken up with the Chief Minister,” he told a press spokesperson after an interaction with Dalit leaders.

The organizations also said that student stipends were not paid on time or were not adequate.

Published – 21 Jul 2026 23:29 IST