Dharamsala, January 28
The police on Friday claimed to have recovered currencies worth over Rs 6 crore from the Karmapa monastery. They continued to search the monastery for the second day today. The police action followed recovery of cash worth Rs one crore from a vehicle during a routine check in Una on the Republic Day.

The vehicle was traced to a businessman from Dharamsala, who claimed that the money had been paid by the Karmapa Trust’s New Delhi office as the sale price of a plot of land. But not satisfied with the explanations, police raided the monastery and continued to question people there.

Officials believe the Karmapa is the recipient of huge funds from China and has been using the funds to help Beijing control the Buddhist monasteries spread from Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, is head of the second largest Buddhist sect in Tibet.

Sources in the police claimed that documents pertaining to benami properties had also been recovered.

Dharamsala IG PL Thakur said the cash seized included Rs 34 lakh in Indian currency, 10 lakh US dollars and 11 lakh Yuan. Currencies of as many as 23 countries had been recovered during the search, he informed.

The Karmapa was said to be present in the monastery. But there was no statement issued on his behalf.

The DGP, D S Manhas, who also took stock of the situation said nobody involved in the case would be spared.

The sources also said the police had barricaded the house of Gompa Shering, the secretary of the Karmapa. He was on a tour to Dehradun and had been called back.

The house would be searched after his return to Dharamsala.

The sources said even if the Karmapa is able to explain the source of the money recovered, he might be held liable for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).