Delhi HC orders police inquiry into woman missing from Rohini ashram

The Delhi High Court on August 24 directed the Delhi Police to register a missing person case and investigate the whereabouts of a woman who has been missing from the Adhyatmik Vidhyalya ashram in Rohini. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on a petition by the woman's parents alleging she was illegally confined by the ashram.

The court noted no clarity on who runs the ashram now or the source of its funds, and said the manner of its functioning needed probing. Two ashram followers told the court the woman had left but her belongings remain there. The parents alleged they saw their daughter on a video call with blackened gums and looking severely weak, which they attributed to forced drug abuse. The next hearing is on August 31.

The ashram's founder, Virender Dev Dixit, was earlier reported absconding, but a CBI prosecutor informed the court he has died. A 2022 High Court committee had found irregularities including minor girls housed in animal-like conditions, prompting a CBI investigation in May 2023. The petition argued that years of legal action have failed to secure the woman's release.