Saintly sins: asaram bapu faces evictiona

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Aug162007/national2007081619452.asp
Saintly sins: Asaram Bapu now faces eviction drive

From Abhay Kumar, DH News Service, Patna:



In a major setback to the revered guru Asaram Bapu, the Supreme Court has upheld the Patna High Court order to remove all illegal encroachments from the premises of the famous Bhikamdas Thakurbari located in Kadamkuan area of the State capital.

The two judge SC bench, comprising Justice H K Sema and Justice L S Panta, dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Asaram’s representative Mahant Sarvesh Das, after being convinced that the HC order was in public interest.

Deccan Herald had carried a report — Sinful acts land saint in soup on August 13, 2006 — which had described how Asaram, who had a huge following across the world, had usurped 13 kathas of land and property worth Rs 2 crore in Patna.



His ashram was being run in an unlawful manner as the Thakurbari was illegally occupied by Asaram Bapu and his disciples on the basis of the forged document obtained from the ousted Mahant Sarvesh Das.

Asaram’s representative had challenged the Patna High Court order in Supreme Court on the ground that the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction in a civil appeal by asking the Bihar State Board of Religious Trust (BSBRT) to take over the Bhikamdas Thakurbari and restore its lost glory.

As the Supreme Court upheld the Patna High Court order, Asaram Bapu and his disciples are now left with no option other than to vacate the prime land within a week.

Chairman of the BSBRT Kishore Kunal has said that Justice Uday Sinha (retired), whom he had appointed as the sole trustee of the Thakurbari, will take over the management of the temple.

Fourth child found dead in Asaram Gurukul

http://www.timesnow.tv/Newsdtls.aspx?NewsID=12519

One more student at Asharam Babu Ashram in Chhidwara of Madhya Pradesh was found dead under mysterious circumstances during the past 48 hours. The first death, of a four-year -old boy, was reported on Tuesday (July 29) evening. This has triggered a fresh controversy about the functioning of the Ashram.

In the first incident, the body of Ram Krishna Yadav a nursery student of residential school Ashram was found on Tuesday evening in the Ashram's bathroom. Krishna was enrolled in the residential school on July 11th this year. However Krishna's parents ruled out any foul play. His father, a practicing lawyer from Mumbai, said that that was their fate, probably Almighty wanted it this way.

The police also ruled out any foul play and said that the boy probably slipped over on the bathroom floor, injuring his head.
However, with the death of another boy, the Ashram is back in controversy. Four and a half years old Vedanta Manmore was found dead in Asharam's bathroom. But this time the body was found in small plastic tub full of water. The senior police officials have reached the Ashram. The police said that the exact cause of the death can be ascertained only after the autopsy report.

Earlier this month, two cousins aged 11 and 12 years, studying in a school run by the Asharam babu Ashram in Ahmedabad were found dead in mysterious circumstances. The incident had triggered violent protests by the locals.

Meanwhile, situation is turning tense in the Ashram area. Thousand of curious people from the township thronged on the Parasia road Ashram when this news spread in the area like wildfire. These people gheroed the Ashram and shouted slogans against the Ashram demanding impartial inquiry into the deaths.

Another mystery death in Asaram centre

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080059422&ch=7/30/2008%2010:16:00%20PM
Asaram Bapu is one of India's most well-known spiritual gurus, but over the last couple of days he has been in the news for mysterious deaths of children at his spiritual centres.

After the bodies of two children from Asaram Bapu's centre in Ahmedabad were found in the bed of the Sabarmati river, close to the centre, another mystery death has been reported at a school run by him in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

A four year old nursery student was found unconscious by his fellow students and died on the way to hospital.The ashram says it's an accident but not everyone is believing that.

"Two children came running to us and informed that Ramkrishn Yadav has fainted in the bathroom , we went there and found him in unconscious state .We took him to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. There are 370 students in my school," Lavkesh Sharma, doctor in the gurukul.

No case has been filed yet. The body has been sent for post-mortem and the police say the cause of the death will be known only after it.

Unlike the Ahmedabad deaths, this time around the parents of the boy who live in Bombay have refused to press charges against the ashram.

According to them it's fate and have reposed their full faith in their guru.

"We are investigating the case , real cause will be known only after post-mortem," said Vinod Srivastava, the police inspector.

Last week there were angry clashes between Asaram Bapu's followers and those pointing fingers at him. Angry crowds also attacked journalists reporting the incident. This latest incident only adds another twist to the tale.

Another mysterious death of boy in Asaram Bapu ashram

http://india.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=138637
Ashram boy mysteriously dies again

Mysterious deaths of two little boys in three days at Asaram Ashram in Chhindwara, MP and four deaths in one month has drawn the probing eyes of police, administration and activists on Asaram ashram, supposed to be the haven for little boys..

FIVE-year-old Vedanta headed towards the toilet on Thursday ( July 31), thoughts of death were nowhere on his mind. He was found in the toilet by his fellow students at 6:15 pm. His head in a bucket of water. He was declared dead at the hospital.

It was the second death in three days at the Asaram Ashram in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. Two days ago four-year-old Ramakrishna Yadav was also found dead in the hostel bathroom. Vedanta was found next to the toilet in which Yadav was found dead. The door was bolted from the outside.

Mysterious deaths of students have become a way of life with Asaram Ashram. On July 3, two students of the Asaram Gurukul in Ahmedabad went missing. Their bodies turned up in the Sabarmati river on July 5. The deaths created a furore. The two dead boys were cousins and their fathers went on indefinite hunger strike, which they inexplicably withdrew.

The deaths are now being probed by the criminal investigation department (CID).

Surprisingly, Vedanta’s father has not lodged a police complaint because he is believed to have said he does not suspect foul play. This is the face of police statements that they have found evidence of foul play.

"Prima facie evidence has established it is a case of foul play," RK Shivhare, SP Chhindwara has been quoted in the media as saying; MR Krishna, IG Jabalpur Range has said that the police are waiting for the post mortem reports of both the deaths. "The matter is serious and will be probed at a high level," he was quoted as saying. A magisterial probe has been ordered by Chandrashekhar Neelkanth, additional district magistrate (ADM).

As the news of the death of the second boy in Chhindwara Ashram spread, the discerning public thronged to the ashram. A fight broke out between the supporters of the ashram and the protesters of the deaths. The police was forced to resort to lathi charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

Meanwhile, fearing for the lives of their children, a number of parents took their children away from the ashram. The ashram has a total of 371 students. Social and political activists are now baying for blood.

And all the parents of the dead boys want is justice. But, by the look of things the moon might be easier.

Reported in the media as an erstwhile mechanic in a cycle shop, Asharam is the spiritual guru of the chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi. This, by and large makes him god. And gods, as we all know, can do no wrong.

The reasons for the boy’s deaths could be political. They could very well be a ’teach you a lesson’ move. They could be something altogether different.

As the saying goes, ’darkness is thickest under the lamp’. Fundamentalism and perversion are two sides of the same coin. And paedophilia is no longer a banned word.

Minor found dead in Asaram Bapu Ashram in MP

Minor found dead in Asaram Bapu Ashram in MP http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Minor_found_dead_in_Asaram_Bapu_Ashram_in_MP/articleshow/3305976.cms CHHINDWARA: A four-and-half-year-old boy has been found dead on the premises of Asaram Bapu Ashram, barely a month after the mysterious death of two minor cousins in a school run by it in Ahmedabad. The body of Ram Krishna Yadav, a nursery student, was found last evening in the Ashram's toilet, police said on wednesday. "Information has been communicated to the parents of Yadav and we are awaiting their return from Mumbai to perform the post-mortem," Superintendent of Police R K Shivhare said. According to police, Ashram children could not go out and play last evening due to heavy rain. Some children then spotted Ram Krishna, son of one Mohan Yadav, lying in a nearby toilet. The children informed Ashram warden and the authorities took Yadav to a local nursing home where doctors declared him brought dead. A case has been registered and further investigations are on, they said. Early this month, two cousins, aged 10 and 11 years and studying in a school run by Asaram Bapu Ashram in Ahmedabad were found dead in mysterious circumstances, sparking protests by the local residents. The protests by Ahmedabad residents had turned violent. The protesters had clashed with Asaram's followers, who had attacked media persons.

Boys die at asaram bapu ashram

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080801/jsp/nation/story_9631266.jsp Boys die at ashram

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Bhopal, July 31: Two children have died in three days in a school at Asaram Bapu’s ashram in Chhindwara, a Madhya Pradesh district 130km from Nagpur, less than a month after similar deaths in Ahmedabad. Ram Krishna Yadav, 4, was found unconscious in a school bathroom on Tuesday and died on the way to hospital. Chhindwara superintendent of police Rajendra Shivhare had ruled out foul play. Today, five-year-old Vedant was found dead, again in the bathroom. “It is not an accident or a coincidence. I am not in a position to say anything as investigation is on. The post-mortem report of the earlier incident has not come,” Shivhare said. The police are suspecting Vedant’s death to be murder because the bathroom door was bolted from outside. “It was not closed from inside,” an officer involved with the probe said. A large crowd of angry residents gathered at the ashram late tonight, and police had to use batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. On July 6, two students of a gurukul in Asaram’s ashram in Ahmedabad were found dead in mysterious circumstances. The boys’ family — the two were cousins — blamed Asaram, a former cycle shop mechanic who is now the spiritual guru of Narendra Modi and L.K. Advani.

Another schoolboy dead in asaram bapu ashram

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=f0d265ef-74a9-47e1-81c8-fc610ccdc82e&MatchID1=4736&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1194&MatchID2=4727&TeamID3=2&TeamID4=3&MatchType2=1&SeriesID2=1191&PrimaryID=4736&Headline=Another+ashram+schoolboy+dead&strParent=strParentID

Yet another student was found dead in Asaram Bapu Ashram school in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday. The ashram is already under the scanner due to the discovery of the body of a four-year-old boy, Ram Krishna Yadav, near the hostel toilet on Tuesday. Earlier this month, two more students of the ashram’s Ahmedabad branch were found dead.

Like Ram Krishna, Vedant Manmode, 5, was found in the hostel bathroom. Ashram inmates rushed him to hospital, where he was declared dead. School doctor Lokesh Sharma said Vedant was found with his head in a bucket of water, leading to suspicion.

The police haven’t lodged a complaint as the boy’s father, who hails from Maharashtra, said he didn’t suspect foul play.

But Chhindwara SP RK Shivhare said: “Prima facie evidence has established it is a case of foul play.” IG (Jabalpur Range) MR Krishna said post-mortem reports in both cases were awaited. “The matter is serious and will be probed at a high level.”

Additional District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Neelkanth has ordered a magisterial probe. As the news spread, a mob attacked the school and parents rushed in to get their children. Social and political activists were up in arms.

In Ahmedabad, the discovery of the bodies of Deepesh and Abhishek Vaghela, aged 11 and 12, from the Sabarmati riverbed had triggered widespread violence.

Asaram Bapu hostel officials booked for negligence

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/asaram-bapu-hostel-officials-booked-for-negligence_10078844.html

Bhopal, Aug 1 (IANS) A case of negligence was registered against a residential school run by spiritual leader Asaram Bapu in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara town Friday, a day after a five-year-old boy was found dead in a bathroom in the hostel premises, police officials said. A probe has also been ordered into the incident by Rewa’s additional district magistrate Chandrashekhar Neelkanth. A special medical team from Bhopal is meanwhile being sent to Chhindwara, 275 km from here, to look into the medico-legal aspects of the child’s mysterious death.

According to the police, Vedant Kumar was found unconscious in the bathroom of the ‘gurukul’ in Parasia Road locality in Chhindwara - the second death of a student in the school in the past three days.

On Tuesday evening, another five-year-old, Ramkrishna Mohan Yadav, was found dead in similar conditions in the gurukul.

The deaths of the two children sparked anger among Bhopal residents, who took to the streets Thursday demanding the ashram’s closure. They pelted stones at the hostel building and the police had to use force to disperse the mob.

On Friday, many parents came to see their children studying in the school and a few even took them back home.

Two students Deepesh Vaghela, 10, and his cousin Abhishek Vaghela, 11, of a gurukul run by Aasaram Bapu’s ashram went missing July 4 in Ahmedabad. Their bodies were found from the nearby Sabarmati riverbed July 6. Allegations of shoddy police probe led to widespread protests and clashes in the city.

2nd boy dies in Asaram Ashram, lathicharge on protesters

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=459291&sid=NAT

Zeenews Bureau Chindwara, July 31: In a shocking incident, yet another 5-year-old student was found dead in the Ashram of Asaram Bapu in Chindwara, Madhya Pradesh. The child Vedant was found under mysterious circumstances in the bathroom with his head drowned in a bucket of water. He died while being taken to hospital. The incident is all the more shocking because barely a day ago one more four-and-half-year-old boy had been found dead on the premises of Asaram Bapu Ashram here, hardly a month after the mysterious death of two minor cousins in a school run by it in Ahmedabad. The body of Ram Krishna Yadav, a nursery student, was also discovered in the Ashram's toilet. School doctor Lokesh Sharma told reporters that Vedant had probably gone early to wash his hands and legs and in the process fell down. He said Vedant's head was in a bucket full of water leading to suspicion about the cause of the death. Vedant was found around 1815 hours in a bathroom next to the toilet from where Yadav's body was found, he said. Sharma expressed suspicion that an "evil spirit" (devil) has entered into the premises resulting in such incidents. This is the third incident of its kind in the Ashram- run school after the mysterious death of two minor cousins in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the father of the deceased Lal Krishna Malpande belonging to Haveli village in Pune district of Maharashtra has been informed of the incident. Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Chandrashekhar Neelkanth has ordred a magisterial probe into the incident. Meanwhile the police lathicharged on a group of protesters who were demanding the closure of the Ashram.

Another student found dead in Asaram Bapu’s school

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/another-student-found-dead-in-asaram-bapus-school_10078457.html
Bhopal, July 31 (IANS) A five-year-old boy was found dead Thursday in the bathroom of a residential school of spiritual leader Asaram Bapu in Chhindwara town of Madhya Pradesh, the police said. This is the second death of a student in the school in the past three days. According to police, Vedant Kumar was found unconscious in the bathroom of the ‘gurukul’ in Parasia road locality in Chhindwara town, 275 km from here.

On Tuesday evening, another five-year-old, Ramkrishna Mohan Yadav, was found dead in similar conditions in the gurukul.

A large number of people, many of them anxious parents, gathered outside the school but were not allowed by the authorities to meet the students. There are 371 students studying in the school.

“We will arrange the meeting of children with their parents and guardians as soon as the situation normalises. We are worried that clashes may occur in the town as has been the case in Ahmedabad, where two children died in mysterious circumstances,” Deputy Inspector General of Police K. Beaphay told IANS.

Two students Deepesh Vaghela, 10, and his cousin Abhishek Vaghela, 11, of a gurukul run by Aasaram Bapu’s ashram went missing July 4 in Ahmedabad. Their bodies were found from the nearby Sabarmati riverbed July 6. Allegations of shoddy police probe led to widespread protests and clashes in the city.

“Apparently both the deaths appear to be accidental and no injury marks have been found on the body of either child. We are, however, inquiring into the matter,” the official said.

Hindu priest becomes "impure" after travelling abroad

Conservative Hindu leaders in the pilgrim town of Udipi in Karnataka are seeking to prevent a monk from heading one of the country's most popular temples saying he had become "impure" because he had travelled overseas, according to a news report by Reuters.
The news report adds that even Gandhi was excommunicated when he went to England to study law....Read full news item here...