Kendrapara, Aug. 19: The controversial self-proclaimed spiritual guru, Sarathi baba alias Santosh Raula, led a princely lifestyle, according to the ashram property evaluation done by the local roads and building division here.

Immovable assets at Sarathi's sprawling Barimula ashram were assessed today at Rs 4.48 crore.

The crime branch had directed the department to carry out the property assessment job, said Kendrapara R&B division's executing engineer M.M. Khan.

Sarathi's bedroom and toilet-cum-bathroom are well-equipped with modern furnishings and fittings. It was in no way less than the comfort and luxury of any five-star hotel, quipped a senior official of R&B division, who co-ordinated the property evaluation.

The bedroom was air-conditioned with the floors lined with expensive marble and decorative gypsum board ceiling. It had the fittings of modern electrical gadgets.

The evaluators, however, excluded several assets, including the regal Sarathi temple, from the evaluation as they did not have the know-how to assess the estimated cost of the multi-layered and architecturally modern temple.

"The imposing and picturesque Sarathi temple could not be evaluated by us as our technical team did not have the expertise to evaluate the cost of the temple. The engineers of state archaeology department could evaluate the temple building cost," said Khan.

The double-storey main building built on 3,760sqft was evaluated at Rs 1.18 crore, while the cost of the three-storey guesthouse was estimated at Rs 94.33 lakh. The library building was valued at Rs 70 lakh, while the enquiry and reception counters were assessed at Rs 17.05 lakh.

The prayer halls with pipe and angle frame structures were valued at Rs 43 lakh. The compound wall of the 2.47acre property was valued at Rs 28 lakh in the current market price. Besides, the courtyard and parking space with its concrete floor area was estimated at Rs 80 lakh.

Major portions of the main building had ceramic tile and marble flooring. There were also decorative gypsum board ceilings in the main building, guesthouse and prayer halls. The electrical installations at the ashram was valued at Rs 5.17 lakh, while nearly Rs 11 lakh was estimated to have been spent for installing sanitation and sewerage facilities at the property.

"Besides the monument structures, statues of gods and goddesses, animals and decorative gates could not be evaluated by us for similar reason," Khan said.

The ashram has a number of concrete animals such as monkeys, turtles, hippopotamus, peacock, deer, bear, tiger, crocodile, swan and zebra. The figurines were built to add to the beauty of the ashram.

The cost of the temple building, however, unofficially assessed by the R&B engineers, is expected to be around Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore.

The state crime branch arrested Sarathi on August 8. The arrest came after the sleuths had grilled him for nearly 13 hours at his ashram and at the crime branch headquarters in Cuttack. Additional director-general of police (crime branch) B.K. Sharma had said the accused had been arrested on the basis of an FIR, lodged by additional superintendent of police (crime branch) Santosh Patnaik.