TN court grants three-day custody of owner, others of care home to CB-CID police

Chennai, Feb 25 (BPNS)

The Chief Judicial Magistrate court (CJM), Villupuram, Tamil Nadu has granted three-day custody of the owner of the Villupuram Anbu Jothi Ashram Jubin Baby, his wife Mariam, and six others to the custody of CB-CID police. The CJM,M. Pushparani passed the order on Saturday and directed the CB-CID to produce the accused before the court at 10 am on Tuesday.

It may be noted that the prosecution has charged the owner of the Anbu Jothi Ashram, Jubin Baby, his wife Mariam, and six others of illegal detention, torture, sexual assault, and suspected inter–state trafficking of residents of the ashram. It may be noted that police on a raid conducted at the mental care centre found that many of the inmates were mentally ill and were tortured mercilessly.

The state government had transferred the case to the CB-CID even as the opposition BJP and AIADMK have been calling for a CBI inquiry given the interstate connections in the case.

The ninth accused in the case Das was already released on bail due to his old age and frail health.  The CB-CID had taken over the case from the Kedar local police on February 21 and filed a petition before the CJM court for three-day custody of the accused which is granted on Saturday.

It may be noted that the Anbu Jothi ashram case hit the limelight after a probe began on a man missing case in which a seventy-year-old man admitted to the ashram was not found there when the relatives came calling.

The investigation revealed serious lapses on the part of the owners of the Anbu Jothi Ashram and torture and ill-treatment of the residents of the ashram at its height.

It was also found that the care home was not functioning with a valid license and that some residents of the ashram were trafficked to other states.

The Madras High Court intervened in the matter and shifted 142 inmates of the ashram to the Government hospital at Mundiampakkam in Villupuram. A case has been registered against the owners and workers for rape and harassment of women inmates of the ashram.

The Madras High Court has also sought an Action Taken Report which is to be filed by February 27.