Villupuram Ashram inmates torture: TN Police transfer case to CB-CID

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu DGP, C Sylendra Babu, on Saturday transferred investigations into the alleged torture and rape of inmates at Anbu Jothi ashram in Villupuram to the Crime Branch - Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID).

Villupuram police who went to the ashram to enquire on a missing complaint earlier this month stumbled upon the horror tale, wherein several destitutes and mentally ill persons who were rescued off the road were chained and raped by those who ran the ashram.

More than 100 inmates were rescued from the ashram, which was operating without requisite licenses from the government bodies for more than a decade.

Villupuram Police had booked eight persons, including the Founder-owner of the Ashram, Jubin Baby and his wife, Maria - both from Kerala. Jubin who got himself admitted to the hospital following police searches at the ashram was arrested on February 16 by a team led by Gingee DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police), A Priyadarshini. The suspects were booked under several Sections of IPC, including 376 (rape) and section 4 of TNPWH (Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Woman Harassment) act among others.

Villupuram Police were also investigating a possible human trafficking angle.