RAJSAMAND: After cases in Haryana and Delhi, an FIR was lodged against self-proclaimed baba Virendra Dev Dixit, hotel owner Dayaram Kumawat and others for the wrongful confinement of 67 minor girls who were found on Wednesday in a hotel on Rajnagar road in a police raid. The FIR was filed on a written report and instructions from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Saturday at the the Rajnagar police station.
"We have registered a case under section 42 and 75 of Juvenile Justice Act and section 342(Punishment for wrongful confinement) of IPC against the accused," said Dinesh, station house officer, Rajnagar police station told TOI.
According to the CWC, the girls had been shifted secretly from Mt Abu where they were reportedly living as disciples in an Adhyatmik school imparting spiritual training. Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had inspected the school in January and found its functioning illegal. In compliance with the commission's report, the Sirohi collector in a letter sent to the CWC and social welfare department, had held that the security of the girls was at stake at the school, hence they should be shifted to state shelter homes. Fearing that the girls would be sent to state homes, the teachers had shifted the girls from Mt Abu and had put them up secretly in the hotel as the owner too was their 'Guru bhai' and closely associated with the school.
The school is said to be a unit of Adhyatmik Vishwavidyalaya, an unregistered organization, having it centres across several places in India with its headquarters at New Delhi. On Sunday, police recorded the statement of the rescued girls who have been temporarily kept at a shelter home run by Asra Vikas Sansthan.
Authorities are in a dilemma as the minors appear to be 'brainwashed.' Even their parents have been reaching Rajsamand from far and wide and are vouching on the 'purity' of the school's motive. " My daughters are mentoring young girls here. They have met Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Arvind Kejriwal and all of them were wonder struck by their spiritual lessons. People have been bad mouthing our ashram out of jealousy but they will realise our truth one day" says Deepak D'Silva, a parent from Mumbai.
" It has been a tough job and we made frantic attempts to get out truth from these girls but all of them seem to be hypnotized and are not willing to listen anything" Bhawna Paliwal, chairperson, CWC told TOI.
As per the records seven girls are from Nepal, four girls are from Haryana, five from Assam, seven from Bengal, nine from Odisha, five from Delhi, three from Bihar, five from MP, three from Chhattisgarh, four from Maharashtra, six from Uttar Pradesh, three from Rajasthan and one each from Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Sikkim.
"The samiti is registered at Mt Abu and its area of functioning is sanctioned for Sirohi district they do not have the right to transport and lodge minors in other districts without prior information of the CWC's of Sirohi and Rajsamand" Paliwal claimed.
Rajsamand collector, SP and judicial magistrates have been visiting the shelter home and addressing the children to find out if they are under any pressure. Chief Medical and Health Officer too visited the home and ensured the kids were getting proper nourishment. Medical teams have been taking daily health report of the children.
"We have registered a case under section 42 and 75 of Juvenile Justice Act and section 342(Punishment for wrongful confinement) of IPC against the accused," said Dinesh, station house officer, Rajnagar police station told TOI.
Policemen deployed at the shelter home in Rajsamand on Sunday.