By IANS,
Lucknow : Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer D.K. Panda, who was in the thick of controversy over his avowal of being “Doosri Radha”, the beloved companion of Lord Krishna, has now claimed a ‘male identity’.
Panda now calls himself Mohan, another name of the popular Hindu deity Krishna. “I am incarnation of Mohan,” Panda told reporters here Friday.
Wearing anklets, a nose ring and vermilion on his forehead, Panda arrived with his head covered with a dupatta at a family court for a hearing of the pending case of maintenance filed by his wife Veena Panda.
On the court premises, Panda was seen singing and dancing.
When reporters asked Panda how much share of his property would he give to his wife, he replied, “Sare sampatti ke swami Krishna hai, main nahin (I am not an owner of any property. It all belongs to Krishna.)”
“It is up to him (Krishna) how much share he provides to anyone,” he added.
About the maintenance case, Panda’s counsel Puneet Verma said: “We offered Veena Panda Rs.10,000 monthly as maintenance, provided she withdraws the case to settle the matter. However, she refused it, demanding a monthly maintenance of Rs.12,000.”
Panda also told the court that he was ready to keep his wife, who left him after the controversy over his being ‘Radha’ broke out.
At present, on the direction of the high court Veena is receiving a monthly maintenance of Rs.6,700, added Verma.
In November 2005, a controversy erupted when Orissa’s inspector general of police (rules and manuals) Panda, a 1971 batch IPS officer, was found to be living as ‘Radha’ for 15 years.
Panda, who called himself ‘Doosri Radha’ (second Radha), once appeared before the Allahabad High Court dressed as a woman. Facing action for flouting the police dress code and service norms, the court upbraided him. The matter ended when he was allowed to take premature retirement, two years before he was to attain superannuation age.