SC seeks Centre's stand on 17 fake babas and their captive inmates

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought Centre's view on action plan against 17 'babas', declared fake by 'Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad', and their alleged illegal activities after a petitioner sought release of his US-educated daughter, and many other women and girls, from the captivity of a Delhi-based 'Ashram' run by a fake baba.
Petitioner D Ramareddy said the Ayodhya-based Akhada Parishad had categorised Veerendra Dev Dixit, who runs the Adhyatmik Viswa Vidyalaya at Rohini and where his daughter is held captive, Asaram bapu, Radhe Maa, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Swami Aseemanand and Rampal among the 17 fake babas and cautioned public against them.
He said his daughter, who was a postdoctoral scholar from IOWA State University in US, has been staying in a jail like condition of the Ashram at Rohini from July 2015, which was founded by Dixit who has been absconding for last three years after been accused of sexually assaulting female inmates.
Ramareddy said that these 17 fake babas run hundreds of Ashrams and institutions where thousands of women and girls are held in captive circumstances in the national capital region and other states. He said that since the SC has ordered release of prisoners from jails to decongest them during Covid pandemic, a similar order needs to be passed for release of inmates in these institutions run by fake babas.
A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices R S Reddy and A S Bopanna asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta to go through the contents of the petition and furnish the view of the Centre on how to tackle with the issues raised by the petitioner, which ranged from accusing the fake babas of amassing huge amounts of unaccounted money and indulging in criminal activities.
The petitioner said, "Due to inaction of the government authorities, fake babas are running the Ashrams and trapping innocent people particularly women. Thousands of women have been forced to stay in the Ashrams. They were given narcotic drugs to ensure that they do not leave the place.
"Though very serious criminal cases registered against Veerendra Dev Dixit, Asharam Bapu, Ram Rahim baba etc, their Ashrams are still being run by them with the help of close associates. The authorities are not verifying the facilities available in the Ashrams and the Ashrams are in very poor conditions. They do not have basic amenities and conditions are very unhygienic. This was reported by a Delhi High Court appointed Committee in the case of Adhyatmika Vishwa Vidhyalaya where the petitioners’ daughter has been staying for the past 5 years," he said.