Chained, tortured, sexually molested by staff members, and were attacked by caged monkeys. Inside reports of an Ashram

D.N. Singh March 14, 2023

3 minutes read

Mobilenews24x7 Bureau

Mobilenews24x7 has to negotiate distances online to reach at such a tale of sorrow which can only be expected from a blockbuster Hindi cinema.

But it is a story in Tamil Nadu where in a rehabilitation house there is a situation when inmates have to choose between live or doom. Inmates have started disappearing from the home to defend themselves against alleged illegal detention, torture, sexual assault, and interstate human trafficking.

But this is the story of an Ashram, according to the police records. Known as Anbu Jothi Ashram a shelter for many destitute such as physically differently able, mentally challenged and many illfortuned located at Kundalapuliyur in Villupuram district since 2005.

But it was little known to many that, inside the Home the plague of inhumanity was prevailing underneath.

However, the home was shut down in February 2023 after Gingee Police of Villupuram, Tamil Nadu informed the Madras High Court that inmates were administered illegal drugs, sexually abused, and physically assaulted by the ashram staff, Live Law reported.

The bust: It was in 2021 the lid was blown off after an inmate called Zafir Ullah got admitted but when Halideen came to India and found Ullah missing he was shocked. He was given the address of Benagluru’s Home of Hope but it was of no avail. So he filed a missing complaint with the local police.

“It was later known that, the shelter home was a spot of incarceration and then the details also came to the knowledge of the media but that was too late” said Pramod Raghavan, senior journalist from Chennai. “Halideen then filed a Habeas Corpus petition before the Madras high court on 17 December 2022.” added Raghavan.

All missing inmates had somehow escaped from the Home. Which further added to the suspicion of the police.

At last the Madras High Court ordered an inquiry in 2023 and the probe quickly revealed the horrors like a crime file episode.

The Madras High Court ordered an inquiry, and on 10 February 2023, a team of officials from Villupuram district’s revenue, police, and health departments went on a search operation for Ullah. nbu Jothi Ashram had been illegally run for 17 years by J Jubin Baby and his wife, J Mariya, without a valid licence from the Tamil Nadu State Mental Health Authority.

It also came to the light that the inmates had been chained, tortured, sexually molested by staff members, and were attacked by caged monkeys.

Going by a report by The Hindu, Villupuram District Differently Abled Welfare Officer C Thangavelu, 166 residents, including 55 women, were rescued from Anbu Jothi Ashram,

Denied licence by Tamil Nadu State Mental Health Authority reportedly denied Anbu Jothi Ashram’s request for a license. On 13 February, the Mental Health Authority in a statement said that their review board inspected the Ashram in December 2022 and found that it violated section 65 of the Mental Health Care Act, 2017. Despite multiple warnings, the home allegedly did not take measures to rectify the irregularities.

It also came to the light that the inmates had been chained, tortured, sexually molested by staff members, and were attacked by caged monkeys.

Going by a report by The Hindu, Villupuram District Differently Abled Welfare Officer C Thangavelu, 166 residents, including 55 women, were rescued from Anbu Jothi Ashram,

Then it was sealed and the accused taken to custody.