Cops tracking origin of Isis letter against Indian spiritual leader
Police are tracing the origin of a letter, purportedly sent by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) militant group, to a hotel manager in Penang, threatening popular spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from India.
The letter, which Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed existed, was sent over the weekend when Ravi Shankar was in Penang for a yoga festival and talk attended by thousands in George Town and Batu Kawan, The Star Online reported today.
The portal also said that a report had been lodged by the hotel and that the case was being probed under Section 507 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation via anonymous communication, according to Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi.
The letter was posted locally to the office of Ravi Shankar’s humanitarian NGO’s Malaysian chapter in Shah Alam, and addressed to the manager of the Penang hotel where Ravi Shankar was staying.
The portal said the letter featured the black flag of Isis and a photo of a beheaded man, and warned the manager that his hotel would be “destroyed” if Ravi Shankar was allowed to “carry out his Hindu activities in Malaysia”.
The letter added that Ravi Shankar and his organisation, Art of Living (AOL) Foundation, were “meddling in the Islamic affairs of Iran and Iraq” and converting Muslims in the Middle East.
“If he sets foot in Malaysia, your hotel and venues of his activities will be destroyed and many thousands will die for him. We don’t want Ravi Shankar to step into a Muslim country,” The Star Online quoted the letter as saying.
The AOL Foundation is a group that aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems and violence. Ravi Shankar also founded a Geneva-based charity called the International Association for Human Values in 1997 to engage in relief work and rural development. Both groups work in close collaboration.
On Saturday, Indian news portals reported the threat, adding that copies of the letter were also sent to an AOL director and a senior staff of the group while the well-known Indian guru was in Cambodia.
Times of India reported that an aide of the spiritual leader said reports were made to the Malaysian authorities as well as the Indian High Commission.
The Star Online also reported that AOL confirmed Ravi Shankar had left Malaysia yesterday morning for Singapore after concluding his Malaysian tour. – March 30, 2015.
