A day after the Madras High Court directed the Coimbatore police to collect all case details registered against the Isha Foundation and produce them before it, 150 policemen raided the foundation’s ashram in Thondamuthur on October 1.
According to an Indian Express report, the search party included one assistant deputy superintendent rank officer and three DSPs.
While the Isha Yoga Center has said in a statement that whatever unfolded was only an inquiry, a senior police officer told the publication that the intent of the search operation was thorough verification of inmates alongside a search of the rooms at the ashram.
“As per the court order, the police, including the SP, have come to the Isha Yoga Center for a general inquiry. They are inquiring with residents and volunteers, understanding the lifestyle, understanding how they come in and stay, etc,” the Isha Yoga Center said.
The police raids came after the Madras HC pulled up spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev or Sadhguru of Isha Foundation and asked him why he was encouraging young women to live like hermits.
A bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam posed the question for the Isha Foundation founder after S Kamaraj (69) a retired professor alleged that his two daughters had been “brainwashed” into permanently staying at the Isha Yoga Centre.
Kamaraj, a retired professor of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, claimed that two of his well-educated daughters had been “brainwashed” to reside at the Isha Yoga Centre permanently.
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