Breaking News Exclusive: India TV meets 'gold treasure' baba Shobhan Sarkar, watch video

Unnao(UP): Shobhan Sarkar, the man who triggered a massive hunt by Archeological Survey of India for the imaginary 1,000 tonnes of gold said to be hidden inside the earth on the grounds of an old crumbling fort in Daundiya Kheda, has for the first time in Indian television spoke to India TV reporter about the excavation. With the help of a hidden camera India TV reporter Abhishek Upadhyay with cameraman Balram Yadav recorded Shobhan Sarkar's interview, and brought his face before the world. After days of painstaking efforts, the India TV team went to Shivla in Kanpur, nearly 70 km from Daundiya Kheda. Both the reporter and cameraman were subjected to rigorous body check, yet they managed to take a hidden camera. Shobhan Sarkar spoke to India TV on the "gold treasure" and on governance. The baba is popular in Unnao and neighbouring areas, but he has no opulent bungalow, no limousines nor any ashram fitted with air-conditioners. Watching Shobhan Sarkar, nobody can believe he can predict the existence of 1,000 tonnes of hidden gold. A man of average build, wheatish complexion, aged 51 years, Shobhan Sarkar gets his head, moustache and beard fully shaved. He does not wear cloth on his upper torso. From the waist below, he wraps a saffron dhoti, and uses part of the dhoti to cover his shaved head. No ear rings, no string of beads on his neck. The baba always stays without footwear. When India TV team went to meet him, he was sitting on the floor on a 'chatai' (mat made of sticks), with some newspapers displaying news about th excavation. India TV reporter Abhishek Upadhyay began with the question on the gold treasure.Abhishek: You had said that you are in a spiritual world. The way you predicted 1,000 tonnes of gold, science can never predict. Shobhan Sarkar: Look, our gurus now want establishment of dharma. It's not the gold of Daundiya Kheda, nor the gold of Adampur. It's the spectacle of the penance of our gurus. Do you understand? This is all 'tap kaa tamaasha' (the spectacle of penance). Nothing else.. Now we will speak about Adampur and tell them, all of you jointly excavate, if you can recover then do it. The baba was clearly saying it was all a 'tamasha' (spectacle), but he is adamant on his prediction. The baba said: "treasures are never exhausted.. nor can anybody recover them".Abhishek: One thing, India was once used to be described as "sone ki chidiya" (the golden bird).Shobhan Sarkar: At every step, my son. Abhishek: There was the Chandragupta Maurya empire, the Gupta empire, Ashoka's empire, when India used to be described as 'sone ki chidiya'. Then foreign invaders came, the British came, did they take away all the gold?Shobhan Sarkar: Look, my son, they took *****(expletives deleted). Everything is lying here inside the earth, with Mother Earth. Say, you die after burying two pots inside earth. Your soul will stay with the pots. Your soul will encircle those pots. Human soul is like the sky, nobody can see it, nobody can take it away. If you want, you can kill them, and if you want, you can give it away, but the treasure remains with the soul of the human being, nobody can take it away, whatsoever one may do, they will get nothing.When India TV reporter asked why he did not disclose about the existence of golden treasures to people all these years, the baba replied: "Son, I am not hungry for fame that I'd go around speaking to all and sundry".(Shobhan Sarkar on Monday made a secret trip by steamer on the river Ganga to Daundiya Kheda, spoke to ASI officials and policemen and returned to his ashram.)Union minister of state for Food Processing Charan Das Mahant is an old disciple of Shobhan Sarkar. It was the baba who after writing a letter to RBI about the hidden gold, handed another letter to Mahant. The minister spoke to senior leaders at the Centre, ASI and Geological Survey of India, and directions were issued to start excavation. Shobhan Sarkar told Mahant that if gold was recovered, he would become the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, from where he hails. Abhishek: A case has been filed against Charandas Mahant.Shobhan Sarkar: So what, what the ****(expletive deleted) can they do? I have already told him he will become the CM after the elections. Abhishek: Of Chhattisgarh?Shobhan Sarkar: Aur kya (what else)?Abhishek: But Charandas Mahant is now cornered?Shobhan Sarkar: Howsoever he may be cornered..let the gold come out, then Charandas will become Charandas, and shout clearly to say he has done nothing wrong. These are all his party's men..The party is divided, isn't it? If gold is found, Charan will become Charan, and say I did this. He will be in stupor.Abhishek: Does he have the right to claim so?Shobhan Sarkar: Yes he does have the right. The baba continues to claim that Rs 3 lakh crore worth gold will definitely be found.