Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Case

In 1980, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh came to Oregon in hopes to spread love and enlightenment. However, on September 17, 1984 a report was filed to the Wasco County Health Department regarding a food poisoning at local restaurant in a town called The Dalles. Reports of food poisoning kept coming and within a week there were 750 cases of illness. The Centers for Disease Control, or also known as CDC, later determined that the poisoning was not linked to poor worker hygiene, but was a deliberate attack by a group. This group was known as the Rajneeshees, followers of a spiritual leader from India. Rajneesh would establish his first commune in India, but would soon come to an end because of drugs, tax evasion, and violence. A year later, Rajneesh bought a former ranch in Oregon to establish his American empire. He would this with the help of a trusted friend Ma Anand Sheela. Soon after the Rajneeshees built their city, they began to take over nearby cities causing tensions between locals and the Rajneeshees. The Rajneeshees also tried to take over the Wasco County government. They started a Share-A-Home program targeting the homeless to give them a place to live at the ranch. In return, the homeless would need to vote the Rajneeshees into the government. However, this wouldn't be enough and they decided to take on another plan. The Rajneeshees slowly began to infect salad bars at local restaurants with salmonella as a practice run for a more devastating attack on Oregon voters. The bacteria was developed at the Rajneesh Medical Corp on the ranch, where scientists were in the process of developing 2 new viruses. One was a more deadly version of typhoid and …show more content…
She would be caught and sentenced to 20 years, but would only serve 2 years and be released. She claims she was only following Rajneesh's orders. Rajneesh died in 1990 of heart disease at the age of