Goal of Leader series: Set the record straight about Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy

The Shawano Leader/October 10, 2004
By Tim Ryan

Editor's note: Leader reporter Tim Ryan has spent the last several months investigating the man known as Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy. Leader editor Kent Tempus.

The level of public concern over Samanta Roy's property purchases in and around Shawano over the past four years has risen with each acquisition. At the same time, facts have become intertwined with rumor and innuendo concerning Samanta Roy and his group, to the point where many people don't know what's true or not.

The Leader undertook this investigation in an effort to set the record straight about Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy. The following report is derived from numerous public records, interviews and, in some cases, previous news reports.

The series of stories to be presented over the coming week will include a number of anonymous sources, some of them former members of Samanta Roy's religious organization. The Leader has made every effort to find sources who will go on the record, but in some cases, they were not identified.

Over the past month, the Leader has made several attempts to get Samanta Roy or one of his representatives to make themselves available for an interview. These efforts included:

Certified letters were sent to P.O. boxes of Samanta Roy's businesses or operations on Sept. 8. One, addressed to Samanta Roy, was left unclaimed. The other, sent to the Green Bay post office box of Naomi Isaacson (A registered agent for the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology), was left unclaimed. However, there was a handwritten note, ostensibly by the post office, stating that cust.(omer) refused then changed mind "hold." Both letters were returned to the Leader in late September.

Two more letters were sent by regular mail on Sept. 20, one to his newest business, Midwest Amusement Park, the other to his address on Frailing Road. The former was returned a few days later, saying it couldn't be delivered because there was no mail receptacle.

On Sept. 27, a letter was mailed to Naarah Kindseth, an assistant to Samanta Roy. Also, that day, a letter for Kal Gronvall, a representative of Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy, was dropped off in person at the Midwest Amusement Park.

Mr. Gronvall also did not return a call from Sept. 23, or respond to an in-person request on Sept. 24, when a Leader reporter handed him a business card and asked him to call. Mr. Gronvall, who was on the phone at the time, only replied that "maybe we can talk Monday."

It was the Leader's hope Samanta Roy or one of his representatives would speak to us about the group, its beliefs, plans and address other concerns. But for whatever reason, they chose not to speak out, which is their right.

Despite that, the Leader has striven to prepare a fair, balanced and as complete a report as possible on Samanta Roy, his group, its history and the organization's property purchases.

It is these growing number of purchases that has put Samanta Roy in the public eye, and for this reason, the Leader brings you this series of stories, which will run through next Sunday.