Judge Releases Guru on Bail of $500,000

A federal judge released Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh from jail Friday on $500,000 cash bail and sent the East Indian guru back to Rajneeshpuram, his central Oregon commune, in a Rolls-Royce limousine--with orders to stay away from airplanes.

U.S. District Judge Edward Leavy set bail over strenuous objections by federal prosecutors, who claimed that the self-described “rich man’s guru” was a “flight risk” who has $20 million stashed in a Swiss Bank account and will do anything to avoid prison.

As a condition of bail, Leavy ordered Rajneesh to live at the commune pending trial and not to use airplanes for travel. He also told Rajneesh’s disciples to remove a large Convair aircraft from the commune’s airstrip because it is capable of intercontinental flight.

“There is $500,000 of somebody’s money at stake if a plane that can fly over the ocean as much as touches down at the landing strip,” Leavy warned.

12 Days in Custody

Rajneesh, 53, spent 12 days in federal custody after his arrest in Charlotte, N.C., aboard a rented Learjet, which authorities said was headed for Bermuda. The guru left Oregon after he was indicted by a federal grand jury here on a charge of arranging sham marriages among his disciples to help them evade immigration laws.

The bearded religious leader, who pleaded not guilty Friday, walked out of the Multnomah County Justice Center, smiled at a cheering crowd, and rode away in a new maroon stretch limousine--one of 93 Rolls-Royces owned by his sect.