Darvish Khan Writes

I have previously reported on the scandal implicating the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust regarding the conflict of interest represented by the clandestine Gary Kleiner and Ramesh Jangale real estate partnership. Jangale is a trustee of AMBPPCT, yet has a decades long business interest in the buying and selling of Meherabad in collusion with Kleiner, a former employee of the Trust.

But this is not Gary Kleiner’s only speculative real estate partnership. Kleiner has also entered into a real estate partnership with Amy Wallin, an American residing at Meherabad. This partnership in contrast to the Jangale partnership has abandoned the cover provided by an Indian national. The Kleiner/Wallin partnership thus has a paper trail which plainly reveals their illegal and unethical machinations: the purchase of real estate on tourist visas, the concealment of ownership through an Indian proxy and the appropriation of adjacent property and a public road to augment the construction footprint.

This obnoxious project will be a multi story condo building built on an extremely small footprint that will obscure the view of the Samadhi of an existing property, Meher Mahal. Kleiner offered to sell the undeveloped 1/4 acre plot to an Indian national named Tarana Singh who resides at Meher Mahal for $320,000 so as to preserve her building’s view of the Samadhi. That works out to $1,280,000 per acre; A new Meherabad record for (attempted) extortion! Of course, four fifths of this sum would be cash under the table and represent yet another illegality. Singh declined the offer.

Kleiner then entered into a partnership with Wallin to develop the property. Wallin, who also owns a condo in Meher Mahal, became abusive when Singh became critical of the myriad illegalities associated with the project. Wallin’s serial abusive behaviors (see letter below) culminated with an assault on Singh about a month ago with a metal object that resulted in Singh going to hospital and an arrest warrant issued for Wallin, who then absconded. Wallin, it turns out, has a history of mental instability. She bizarrely owns a horse that she “stables” at Meher Mahal, despite the fact she knows nothing about horses and cannot even ride one.

This is the letter Singh wrote to the AMBPPCT about her problems with the Kleiner/Wallin speculative venture:

From: “Tarana Singh”
Date: 11 Jun 2016 23:25
Subject: Complaint against Gary Kleiner & Amy Wallins’ Illegal BENAMI Commercial Activities/Transactions
To: <chairman@ambppct.org>
Cc: <shridharkelkar7@gmail.com>, <jal@mail.ambppct.org>, <heather@mail.ambppct.org>, <rameshjangale@gmail.com>, <meruby@sympatico.ca>, <craig@mail.ambppct.org>, <mnath786@yahoo.com>, <framrozemistry@gmail.com>, <meheriar@yahoo.com>

Dear Chairman and Trustees of the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust,

Jai Meher Baba!

My name is Tarana Singh, D/O Brig.Jagdish Singh and Grand Daughter of Maj.Gen.Gobinder Singh. 

I am a Lifetime member of the CINTA and the Indian Press in the capacity of Actor, Performer, Producer-Director.

3 Generations of my family (over 50 family members) have served in the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force besides fighting for our Motherland’s Sovereignty in all the wars in the last 70 years.

Lastly, but most importantly, I am a Citizen of India, a Baba Lover having represented myself in the Supreme Court of India as my own legal counsel, and won my cases against the most powerful builder cartel of India appearing and winning my case against opposite party’s legal counsel, Advocate P.Chidambaram, ex Finance Minister of India and Congress Party member.

This is to bring to your kind notice that on 27th September, 2015, at 12.30 hrs, at our Mumbai home, Ms.Amy Susanne Wallin, owner of Unit #1, Meher Mahal, Meherabad, informed my husband, Mukut Deepak and myself, that she was purchasing,   from a certain Gary Kleiner and would be building apartments for sale on the said premises.She proceeded to show me a large plan of the proposed construction plan and offered to sell us a dwelling unit of our choice in the said apartment complex. She was a house guest at that time and what we believed to be a Meher Baba Lover who visited Meherabad 2-3 times a year for spiritual purposes. She quoted INR 1,00,00,000 (1 CRORE only ) as payment for the same.

Subsequently she left for the USA and returned in 2016. Over the last couple of months, it has come to my notice that the Indian Government does not permit Foreigners on Tourist or student Visas to enter into Commercial activities in our country.

I would like to ask the AMBPPCT whether it is aware that the lady in question is, over the last 15 months, 

1.Engaging in Commercial and illegal activities, without requisite RBI and other Governmental permissions?

2. Entering into BENAMI transactions that are VOID as per the Benami Transactions (Protection) Act 1988?

3. Soliciting business in Baba’s name in Meherabad and other parts of India, including Pune, Mumbai, by attempting to sell the proposed units?

4. Illegally renting the premises in her name in Meher Mahal?

5. Intimidating, Attacking, Threatening, abusing, blocking and humiliating my staff, maid (Sindhu), several handymen, carpenters etc, and the manager of Meher Mahal, Mr.Sunil Kalbor, in person and on email?

6. Traumatising, threatening, terrorising, intimidating and bullying Baba lovers and citizens of India, who are her neighbours at Meherabad, including myself and my friends on an ongoing basis?

7.Ms. Wallin has threatened Baba Lover and neighbour, Mr.Navneet Batheja that she will register a complaint of Sexual Harassment against him if he complains to the authorities about her illegal and nefarious activities. Ms.Wallin has a history of accusing parties who challenge her bullying tactics by suits of Sexual Harassment. The evidence is freely available on the internet, wherein in New York, she has already done the same. The accusation of sexual harassment raised by her was discharged in court in New York.

Please refer to this link or google “wallin amy sexual harassment new york “

http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-first-department/2004/2004-05546.html

I have been hesitating  to write to you asking for your help, because she claims to be “friendly with the Trustees of the AMBPPCT”.

However, for the last 2 months I am unable to live peacefully in Meher Mahal as an owner an citizen.

For the following reasons besides the above

I am the only resident of Meher Mahal living in the premises as on date. There are 2 Indian men of unknown background and antecedents who are occupying Amy Wallin apartment 24*7 for the last 1 year, at least one of who is a tenant of hers.These men drive around in aSilver-Grey coloured Scorpio car without a registration plate. When asked why there is no number/ registration plate, I am informed by them that “we don’t need to get any number plate for any of our vehicles” and that one of them is an “influential government employee”.

These men are hooligans who intimidate, harass and misbehave with my staff .They entertain many young boys of the age group of 10-16 yrs who visit Amy Wallins’ apartment at different times.I am in fear for my safety and need protection.The building has turned into a slum like environment wherein one of these men roams about shirtless, throwing his weight around (he is the said owner of the numberless plateless Scorpio) and behaving as if he is the owner of Amy’s unit.

I am appealing to the trustees for advice, responsible action and immediate intervention, failing which I shall be forced to register a police complaint against the said parties.

It is a shame that in my / our own country, few are made to feel unsafe, living in Meherabad, so near to Meher Baba’s Samadhi, victimised and intimidated by foreigners in the guise of being Spiritual aspirants.

My question to the AMBPPCT is , we are so called “Baba Lovers” who come to Meherabad for life with Meher Baba, then Why all this illegal commercial activity?

1. Are you as trustees aware of the implications of the scandal that this situation is leading up to and its ramifications for the AMBPPCT?

2. Is Amy Wallin on a Trust sponsored Visa?  

3. Do you condone these illegal land transactions and Non Babaful activities by foreign “Baba Lovers” in our country? What would Meher Baba and the Mandali have to advise in this situation ?

4. When I visited the DSP and SP’s offices, they sent a constable to meet a trustee and inquire into this matter. Are you aware of this? What has happened further in this investigation?

5. Do you know that when I visited the Talathi of Arangaon, he told me that a member of the trust is involved in the illegal/Void/ Benami land transactions with Amy Wallin and Gary Kleiner?

In the absence of a prompt reply and action to this communication, I shall be forced to file criminal complaints against Amy Wallin, Gary Kleiner and party as this matter has been going on for over a year and I am in fear for my safety.

In His Love

Tarana Singh

Unit#3, Meher Mahal

Meherabad

Arangaon

India

This letter was sent to AMBPPCT well over a year ago, but Singh claims she never received a response of any kind from the Chairman or from a trustee until she recently lodged a police report- just as she promised she would do, and the Trust was contacted by the police for information. The Chairman Sridhar then at last called her. Singh discovered from Amy Wallin herself that this letter and every subsequent communication she made to the Trust were “leaked” to Wallin, often within minutes of Singh emailing them to the Trust office. This was presumably done by Ramesh Jangale. Upon being informed of Singh’s actions, Wallin would then confront Singh about them. Wallin’s most recent encounter a few weeks ago with Singh in which she assaulted her with a metal object concerned just such a leaked communication.

The picture that emerges from Singh’s story and the documents she has produced is that not only has the Trust willfully ignored Singh’s plight but has actively protected the illegal interests of Kleiner/Wallin.

Perhaps it is no surprise that the Trust would protect the predatory behavior of one of its own trustees- Jangale, and the predatory behavior of one who for decades served the Trust- Kleiner, and his unstable partner in Meherabad real estate speculation- Wallin, but it is all nonetheless extremely disappointing and disgusting.

Last week, a former long time American resident of Meherabad, Peter Booth, who appears to have arrogated to himself the role of fixer for the Trust, interjected himself into this problem by calling Singh’s friend Leroy Parker in California and demanding that Singh drop the assault charges against Wallin or Singh and Parker would not be welcome at Meherabad. This extremely unfortunate and barely veiled threat on the Trust’s behalf does not bode well for the Trust or Peter Booth’s reputation.

What has happened to the Trust? The Chairman and trustees have proved feckless- to put it mildly, in promoting transparency and accountability, and in eliminating conflicts of interest in its sacred responsibility to administer Avatar Meher Baba’s Trust Deed. Singh’s story documents how callous and degraded the Trust and its minions have become.

And what about the Meherabad and Meherazad community? When will it become an adult and empowered community? The present arrangement in which the Trust and its Chairman are the primary arbiters of the growing population of foreigners and resident nationals’ health and well being is obviously a dismal arrangement; It is simply not working. It has in fact become a toxic arrangement. Since Trust sponsored visas longer that six month’s duration are no longer being granted by the Indian government, the opportunity has clearly arrived for residents of Meherabad and Meherazad to collectively organize to represent their interests to the Trust and the Indian government. The present situation in which the Chairman has the discretion to not answer at will the pressing concerns of those under the Trust’s influence is completely unacceptable.

Finally, it is long, long overdue for the Trust to clearly take a position on what represents the legal and ethical purchase and sale of local real estate, and what precisely are the rules and regulations that should be abided by. The Trust has deliberately dodged this subject to protect the speculative partnerships involving  trustees and former employees of the Trust and the investments of residents. In other words, by not having adequately addressed this subject, the Trust has abdicated its responsibility in protecting the interests and integrity of both the Trust and those whom it serves. This also is completely unacceptable.

I contacted both Sridhar Kelkar and Ramesh Jangale with the following emails to solicit their responses to the questions I posed to them:

Hi Shridhar;

I am writing a blog post on Tarana Singh’s problems with the Kleiner/Wallin real estate project including the recent assault against Tarana by Wallin which has resulted in an arrest warrant for Wallin.

Singh has stated that you only recently (a few weeks ago) replied by phone to her letter  dated 11 June 2016 in which she details her complaint against the Kleiner/Wallin project, and that you basically declined to take an interest in her complaint.

Is this true?

Would you please comment on the Jangale/Kleiner real estate partnership and specifically address the assertion that the conflict of interest represented by this partnership has complicated your ability to adequately address Tarana’s complaint?

Hi Ramesh;

I am writing a blog post on Tarana Singh’s complaint against the Kleiner/Wallin real estate project and need your input.

Tarana has said that she never received a reply from you to her letter to the Chairman and trustees dated 11 June, 2016 detailing her complaint. Are you not the trustee appointed in charge of security at Meherabad? Did you never get back to her by phone, email or in person?

Also, would you please confirm or deny that you have a longstanding real estate partnership with Gary Kleiner? Would this explain why (if it is true) you never got back to Tarana?

In Baba, Bill Gannett

As of publication, I have not received replies.

Update 12/21/2017:

I still have not received replies.

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Meher Spiritual Center in North Myrtle Beach, SC., is advertising for a newly created position of executive director to help guide it in the fulfillment of the charter given to it by Avatar Meher Baba.

This is probably more than anything else a response to Sufism Reoriented of Walnut Creek, Ca. flexing its muscles in the acquisition of Youpon Dunes in downtown Myrtle Beach, a former residence of Elizabeth Patterson who founded Meher Center. Sufism Reoriented, which also received its charter from Avatar Meher Baba, now owns three properties to promote its contentious mission: the newly constructed 50 million dollar sanctuary in Walnut Creek, a Washington DC property and the Myrtle Beach property.

The new position of executive director promises to confuse the primary and longstanding purpose of Meher Spiritual Center to be a retreat center for “rest, meditation and the renewal of the spiritual life”. This has been its stated purpose since its founding over 60 years ago. But now the issue of power and control of Meher Baba’s message is becoming a factor in the management of the retreat center.

Why would this newly created position of executive director supplant the existing administrative structure governing Meher Center? This is a mistake. Meher Center does not need a propaganda department, and it most certainly does not need a propaganda department in charge of its primary function as a retreat center.

The problem of Sufism Reoriented is real and lasting. They are a powerful institutional cult that is dedicated to promoting an outrageous lie regarding their alleged mandate. But why should this make Meher Center insecure?

It is instructive to note that both Sufism Reoriented’s and Meher Center’s charters are minefields of ambiguity; SR has already hung itself through a willful interpretation of their mandate. There is no good reason Meher Center should do so as well.

Update 8/04/2017

After having posted the above entry, and having discussed this material with a few people, I now wish that I had more boldly stated my opinion about the recent Meher Center announcement about the newly advertised executive director position.

This is a terribly conceived and written announcement. The first point to make is that the new position could not possible fulfill the responsibilities that it describes. The job description is impossibly large and far reaching. Why would any sane applicant want to apply for such a job description? There is an infinite irony here: any person who would want this job is at once disqualified by applying for it! There are three or four jobs contained in this job description. What sane applicant would agree to such a herculean task?

Who wrote this announcement? Did a committee draft it?

As I intimated in my initial post, there is something very wrong with the motivation behind this proposal. It is essentially a power play: consolidate all the real and imagined mandates in the Meher Center charter into one overarching position that radically destabilizes the historic role of Meher Center to be a retreat center for ” rest, mediation and the renewal of the spiritual life.”

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The planet is choking to death, all because of “progress”. This is the anthropocentric irony: the world is coming to an end because of human ingenuity. It is instructive to reflect on the fact that the concept of progress relies on the exploitation of energy.

Blake said energy is eternal delight. But the empowerment of desire by the blaze of roaring global consumption of fossil fuels will destroy us all. The planet will go berserk because of our unbridled appetite. Everyone wants the good life, unaware that the good life is like a microwave drying the cat.

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I have been accused of being a faux sufi- that is, a pretender to the sufi cloak. In fact, I have never worn the sufi cloak. Like Hafez, I disavow the robe of pretension; I spill wine on it every chance I get. As for all the high sounding confections about the brotherhood of Baba lovers, that one should never critique them as if we were all Zionist conspirators who must give absolute loyalty to a chauvinist pogrom- well, forget it!

I find this attitude absolutely disgusting. The Baba world is rife with predators, and the sooner this becomes accepted and publicly discussed, the better. The infantile notion that this would reflect badly on the Lord and Master- Meher Baba, is stupid beyond belief.

The truth will  always prevail, and attempts to conceal the filth that plagues our community so as to sanitize our reputation is vomit upon vomit.

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