Anbu Jothi Ashram: CB-CID suspects interstate trafficking racket

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Police's CB-CID, which is probing alleged torture, rape, and ill-treatment at the Anbu Jothi Ashram mental care centre in the state's Villupuram, have commenced an investigation on persons missing from there amid concerns of trafficking and illegal organ transplants, officials said on Wednesday.

The centre, located in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram, was in the news after government authorities conducted raids in the ashram and shut it down, following complaints of torture and ill-treatment of the inmates.

There has been complaints of rape and human trafficking from the mental care home rune by Jubin Baby and his wife Maria hailing from Kerala.

The probe into the Anbu Jothi Ashram came out in the open when Halideen filed a habeas corpus petition after finding his relative Zafirullah, 70, missing from the ashram. The subsequent police investigation found that the septuagenarian was transferred to another home, Hope of Home, in Bengaluru.

The owners of the ashram used to transfer people undergoing mental illness to other ashrams like Home of Hope, Snehalaya Charitable Trust in Kerala's Kasargod, Apna Ghar Ashram in Rajasthan, Karunai Illam in Tamil Nadu's Vaniyambadi and the St Joseph's Hospice in Villupuram.

Police, on investigation, found that 15 residents were missing from the Home Of Hope in Bengaluru after they were transferred there from the Anbu Jothi Ashram. There were reports that Zafirullah was among these 15.

Interstate human trafficking and human organ trade are also being raised against the ashram owners. One of the accused in the case, Biju Mohan, in his statement to the police, said that he used to lure people loitering in the streets and bring them to the ashram where their heads were tonsured and they taken to other homes mentioned above.

He also informed the police that Jubin Baby use to terrorise the inmates by letting loose two monkeys in the ashram on them. The monkeys were captured by the Forest Department during the raids.

Two women inmates of the ashram have complained of rape against Jubin and the Kedar police have registered a case over this.

Opposition BJP and AIADMK have already demanded a CBI probe into the case as this involve interstate connections and human trafficking and organ trade is being suspected.

The presence of psychotropic materials from the ashram is also now being probed by the CB-CID.

With more complaints coming up, the CB-CID is joining the dots to bring out a clear picture of whether human trafficking and human organ sale has taken place from the Anbu Jothi Ashram, and this will become clear in the days to come.