Police teams descend on Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, probe girls’ ‘illegal detention’
District Social Welfare Officer, child welfare officers and other officials accompanied the 100-member Coimbatore Rural police team which was led by its Superintendent
Isha Foundation; Madras High Court
COIMBATORE: A day after the Madras High Court posed pointed questions at Isha Foundation and its founder Jaggi Vasudev, dozens of police personnel, number over one hundred, descended on its yoga centre in Coimbatore on Tuesday to conduct an inquiry into the alleged illegal detention of two women.
Speaking to the media late in the night, SP K Karthikeyan said the inquiry would continue on Wednesday, too.
Led by the SP, six teams, including women officials, started the inquiry around 9.30 am. District Social Welfare Officer R Ambika, child welfare officers and other officials also accompanied the police.
The officials sought information on the number of people, especially women, who espoused asceticism, foreigners, the number of persons who went missing from there, and details on criminal cases registered against the foundation.
The search follows a court directive to Coimbatore Rural police to inquire and file a report based on a habeas corpus petition filed by Dr S Kamaraj, a retired professor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), who alleged that his two daughters were brainwashed and kept in captivity at the Isha Foundation.
Hearing the plea, Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam sought to know why Jaggi Vasudev had his own daughter married and well-settled while encouraging other women to shave their heads, renounce worldly life, and live as hermits at his yoga centres.
Meanwhile, Isha Foundation said in a statement that adults have the freedom and wisdom to choose their own path. “We do not ask people to get married or take up monkhood, as these are individual choices. Isha Yoga Centre is home to thousands, while a few have taken monkhood… the monks presented before the court and stated they are staying out of their own volition… We hope truth will prevail and end all unnecessary controversies,” the statement said.
It alleged that the petitioner and others tried trespassing into the premises on the pretext of a fact-finding committee to inquire about the crematorium being constructed by the foundation and filed a criminal complaint.
“The Madras High Court has granted a stay on submission of the final report by police. Apart from this, there is no other criminal case against the foundation," Isha Foundation added.