Ma Anand Sheela
| Ma Anand Sheela | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Sheela Ambalal Patel 28 December 1949 Baroda, India |
| Residence | Switzerland |
| Nationality | India, United States, Switzerland |
| Other names | Sheela Silverman, Sheela Birnstiel |
| Occupation | Spokesperson, senior care |
| Known for | 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack |
| Criminal charge | Attempted Murder Second-degree assault Illegal wire-tapping Arson Immigration fraud |
| Criminal penalty | 20 years' prison |
| Criminal status | on parole (1988) |
Ma Anand Sheela (Gujarati: માં આનંદ શિલા; born 28 December 1949 as Sheela Ambalal Patel in India), is an Indian–American–Swiss criminal who in 1985 pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault for her role in the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and paroled after 29 months.
From 1981 through 1985, she managed the Rajneeshpuram ashram in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. She was the former chief assistant for the Indian mystic Rajneesh. Sheela moved to Switzerland, where she married, purchased two nursing homes, and was subsequently convicted of "criminal acts preparatory to the commission of murder".
Sheela was born Sheela Ambalal Patel in 1949 at Baroda, in the Indian state of Gujarat, the youngest of six children of the Gujarati couple Ambalal and Maniben Patel. At age 18 she moved to the United States and attended Montclair State College in New Jersey.
Sheela married Marc Harris Silverman, an American native of Highland Park, Illinois and took the name Sheela P. Silverman. She moved to India in 1972 to pursue spiritual studies with her husband. They became disciples of the Indian guru Rajneesh and Sheela took the name Ma Anand Sheela. After her husband died, Sheela married a fellow Rajneesh follower, John Shelfer.
In 1981 Sheela became Rajneesh's personal assistant and convinced him to leave India and establish an ashram in the United States. In July 1981, Sheela purchased the 64,000-acre (260 km2) Big Muddy Ranch in Wasco County, Oregon which became the site for the development of the Rajneeshpuram commune. She became president of Rajneesh Foundation International, managed the commune and met daily with Rajneesh to discuss business matters. According to Sheela, Rajneesh was complicit in and directed her involvement in criminal acts she later committed.
...
Wikipedia