Indian saint cleared of forgery charges

Published October 26, 2004

NEW DELHI, Oct 25: A court on Monday cleared Hindu holy man Chandraswami, once one of India's biggest political powerbrokers, of forging papers which alleged that former premier V.P. Singh stashed illegal funds abroad.

The federal investigative agency filed the case in 1990. It accused Chandraswami of forging bank documents to falsely implicate Singh and his son in keeping illegal funds in the Caribbean island of St Kitts.

But the Delhi high court said Monday there was no evidence to prove the charges against Chandraswami.

The probe against Chandraswami was launched soon after V.P. Singh's Janata Dal party came to power in 1989, inflicting a humiliating defeat on the Congress party government then led by Rajiv Gandhi.-AFP