Internet couldn’t digest it.<\/p>\n
A Rs 5-crore claim involving Virat Kohli and spiritual leader Premanand Maharaj has triggered a fresh social media controversy, but Kohli\u2019s spokesperson has now strongly rejected the allegation, calling it \u201ccompletely false, baseless and factually incorrect\u201d.<\/p>\n
The statement came after Dinesh Sharma, popularly known as Falahari Maharaj and president of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas, reportedly claimed that Rs 5 crore was spent or offered to bring Kohli to Premanand Maharaj\u2019s Vrindavan ashram during the cricketer\u2019s first visit in January 2023.<\/p>\n
According to reports, Sharma made the claim in a letter addressed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He alleged that a Rajasthan-based private company and a property-builder lobby were behind the purported payment, with the alleged aim of increasing the popularity and public-relations reach of Premanand Maharaj.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Kohli\u2019s spokesperson has categorically denied the claim.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe claims being made are completely false, baseless and factually incorrect,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The statement further clarified that Kohli\u2019s visits to Premanand Maharaj are driven by his \u201cdeep faith and reverence\u201d for the spiritual leader.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson also urged the media to verify information before reporting or amplifying such allegations.<\/p>\n
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma\u2019s visits to Premanand Maharaj<\/p>\n
Kohli\u2019s association with Premanand Maharaj is well known. The cricketer and his wife, actor Anushka Sharma, have visited the spiritual leader\u2019s Vrindavan ashram on several occasions.<\/p>\n
The couple first visited the ashram in January 2023 with their daughter Vamika. Images and videos from their meeting subsequently went viral on social media.<\/p>\n
They returned to the ashram in 2025, including a visit following Kohli\u2019s announcement of his Test retirement in May that year. The couple has also visited Premanand Maharaj again this year.<\/p>\n
While the visits videos have gone viral, the Rs 5-crore payment claim has not been supported by any publicly available contract, invoice, bank transaction record or payment document.<\/p>\n
The allegation nevertheless gained traction online, with social media users debating both the claim and Kohli\u2019s association with Premanand Maharaj.<\/p>\n
\u2018We Trust Premanand Maharaj! Do you?\u2019<\/p>\n
As the controversy spread, an X account, @JaipurDialogues, posted: \u201cWe Trust Premanand Maharaj! Do you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The post drew strong reactions from users defending the spiritual leader.<\/p>\n
One user wrote: \u201cIt should not even be a question!! He is Premanand Maharaj!! Unka nam sunte hi Negativity chali jati!! Kuch galat karne ka man nahi hota. I proudly say this I am alive because of him!!\u201d<\/p>\n
Another wrote: \u201cYes, we trust Premanandji Maharaj. \ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\udea9\u201d<\/p>\n
A third user commented: \u201cJinka naam Bhot hota hai unko badnaam karne kosish bhi bohot hoti hai lekin dharm sach paath dene wale kabhi bura nHi hota jeet sach or dharm ki hoti hai.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another user criticised those targeting the spiritual leader, writing: \u201c1st of all catch the @shubhankrmishra this fellow is continues spreading venom against Premanand ji maharaj…\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Internet couldn’t digest it. A Rs 5-crore claim involving Virat Kohli and spiritual leader Premanand Maharaj has triggered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":919370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85,487591],"class_list":["post-919369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-virat-kohli-premanand-maharaj-rs-5-crore-controversy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=919369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=919369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=919369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=919369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}