Give report on whereabouts of ashram founder: HC

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday termed as “extremely suspicious” the conduct of the founder of a north Delhi-based ashram where girls were allegedly kept in illegal confinement and asked the CBI to give a report on his whereabouts.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar prima facie found substance in the argument of a panel appointed by it that the ashram and its founder Virender Dev Dixit were making the girls housed there lodge false complaints against their family members.

It said these complaints against family members appear to have been lodged to dissuade them from pursuing cases against the ashram and Dixit. The court said that while it will not interfere in any genuine, legitimate and honest spiritual activity, it will “not countenance any fraudulent or illegal activity”.

The bench also said that the entire organisation was run and managed by Dixit and arguments to the contrary by the ashram’s lawyer are “falsified” by information on the website as well as Youtube videos.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment, which informed the court that several minors and women were allegedly being illegally confined at the “spiritual university” here and were not allowed to meet their parents. The bench had earlier ordered a CBI probe by a SIT into the ashram and its founder. The SIT was also asked to investigate various complaints lodged against the ashram and its founder.