RAJNEESPURAM, Ore. -- Detectives descended on the commune of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Wednesday to question his followers about the alleged poisoning of public officials and a list of other crimes the guru has blamed on 15 exiled leaders of his cult.

The investigators were welcomed to the desert retreat by the Rajneeshee Peace Force, the commune's municipal police, which has volunteered to help in the probe of charges leveled by the Indian guru against his former top lieuteants.


Ma Anand Sheela, the outspoken and sometimes caustic personal secretary to Rajneesh, and several other key leaders of his religious movement mysteriously left the commune during the weekend and apparently flew to Europe.

Rajneesh angrily denounced them for trying to turn his 4-year-old retreat into a 'facist concentration camp.' He accused them of trying to kill three people in the commune and two public officials from surrounding communities with poison.

He also hinted that they were involved in a salmonella outbreak that left 700 people ill in The Dallas, the Wasco County seat where the Rajneeshees had many confrontations with officials over efforts establish the commune on a former cattle ranch 160 miles east of Portland.

Wasco County District Attorney Bernard Smith said a task force of investigators from several agencies met with the Peace Force in The Dallas to coordinate the investigation. Detectives then went to the commune to begin looking for hard evidence.

'We are concerned about alligations of harm or attempted harm against individuals,' said Smith. 'There have been charges that there were four or five attempted homicides. Those are priority matters.'


The District Attorney said he was most interested Rajneesh claims that doses of poison were given to County Judge William Hulse and Jefferson County District Attorney Michael Sullivan when they visited the commune.

Both drank liquids and later suffered extreme cases of dysentary that left the hospitalized.

'Sullivan was very ill; he stopped breathing twice,' said Smith.

Rajneesh also claimed his personal doctor, his dentist and a woman at the commune were poisoned.

The 53-year-old bearded guru, who has been delivering discourses twice a day to his followers since the leaders left, also outlined new charges, accusing them of plotting to crash an explsive-laden plane into county offices.

In Wednesday's speech, according to Rajneeshee spokesman Swami Anaud Anshumali, the guru said Sheela and 'her gang' asked a pilot for Air Rajneesh, the commune's commercial airline, to load a small plane with explosives and crash it into the Wasco County Courthouse.

He said the pilot, who was not identified by the guru and is no longer at the commune, was told to bail out before the plane crashed.

The guru did not give any dates or say why the plan was never carried out.

Anshumali said the plot was result of a long-running battle between Sheela and county officials over zoning and building permits and voter registration.

Rajneeshee officials found the underground room beneath a swimming pool in Jesus Grove, the housing compound where the Sheela and other top officials lived.

Anshumali said the room was built by Rajneeshee workers who were unaware of what they were doing. He said the room connected to a carpeted tunnel leading out of the fenced compound. He said the tunnel was an 'escape route for the gang because they were paranoid' about retaliation from commune members.


Earlier, Rajneesh charged that the exiled leaders tried to poison his doctor, dentist and female companion and a local district attorney and county commissioner.

He also said they were responsible for an arson fire at the Wasco County Planning Department, setting up an intricate system of bugging devices throughout the commune and running the commune $55 million in debt.

Both drank liquids and later suffered extreme cases of dysentary that left them hospitalized.

'Sullivan was very ill; he stopped breathing twice,' said Smith.

Rajneesh also said his personal doctor, his dentist and a woman at the commune were poisoned.

The 53-year-old bearded guru, who has been delivering discourses twice a day to his followers since the leaders left, also outlined new allegations, accusing them of plotting to crash an explsive-laden plane into county offices.

In Wednesday's speech, according to Rajneeshee spokesman Swami Anaud Anshumali, the guru said Sheela and 'her gang' asked a pilot for Air Rajneesh, the commune's commercial airline, to load a small plane with explosives and crash it into the Wasco County Courthouse.

He said the pilot, who was not identified by the guru and is no longer at the commune, was told to bail out before the plane crashed.

The guru did not give any dates or say why the plan was never carried out.

Anshumali said the plot was result of a long-running battle between Sheela and county officials over zoning and building permits and voter registration.

Rajneeshee officials found the underground room beneath a swimming pool in Jesus Grove, the housing compound where the Sheela and other top officials lived.


Anshumali said the room was built by Rajneeshee workers who were unaware of what they were doing. He said the room connected to a carpeted tunnel leading out of the fenced compound. He said the tunnel was an 'escape route for the gang because they were paranoid' about retaliation from commune members.

Earlier, Rajneesh charged that the exiled leaders tried to poison his doctor, dentist and female companion and a local district attorney and county commissioner.

He also said they were responsible for an arson fire at the Wasco County Planning Department, setting up an intricate system of bugging devices throughout the commune and running the commune $55 million in debt.