TW: Mention of sexual assault, violence
Sexual assault, rape, violence using monkeys, human trafficking, and torture are a few of the several allegations of human rights violation against Anbu Jothi, a rehabilitation home in Kundalapuliyur of Villupuram, that has been functioning for nearly two decades without registration or license. The home lured destitute people with the promise of three meals a day and a safe place to stay. Later, many were allegedly drugged and tonsured to make them appear to have mental health problems.
Here is how a missing person complaint led to the police discovering the horror story of the couple who managed the home and tortured people for years.
On December 17, 2022, United States resident Salim Khan approached the Kedar police station in Tamil Nadu to file a complaint about his missing father-in-law Jawahirullah (70). According to his complaint, Jawahirullah was admitted to Anbu Jothi Ashram on December 4, 2021, but he went missing. Reports say that when Salim enquired with the ashram staff, he was told that Jawahirullah, along with 51 other inmates, was shifted to another home in Bengaluru, also allegedly connected to Anbu Jothi. The incident was first reported by the New Indian Express.
When a police team from Tamil Nadu visited the Bengaluru home, Raju alias Auto Raja, the Director of the home, claimed that the old man and a few others escaped from the premises by breaking open a bathroom window. But surprisingly, the home did not file a complaint about this. Later, Salim filed a writ of habeas corpus in the Madras High Court (HC), to find his father-in-law.
After the HC ordered the police to probe and find the missing person, the police team discovered that there were hundreds of victims in the Anbu Jothi ashram. The police and volunteers rescued as many as 142 persons from the home, including 109 men, 33 women, and one boy. It was also found that some women inmates were raped by a few employees and several others were chained, tortured, and attacked by caged monkeys. Of the 142 rescued persons, 12 persons have been handed over to their families and 130 persons were admitted to a home for the destitute.
In a bid to escape from the police officials, owners of the ashram –Jubin (45) and his wife Maria (43) of Kerala– released two wild monkeys on the officials. The couple had caged the monkeys and used them to threaten and attack the inmates. However, the monkeys turned against them and attacked the duo, following which they were admitted to the Mundiyampakkam Government Medical College hospital.
Jubin, also known as Anbu Jubin or Baby Jubin, is a native of Ernakulam in Kerala. He was a volunteer at a private home when he chanced upon Villupuram in 2005. According to reports, Jubin and his wife Maria started a home in a small rented place in the Periyar colony, with a dozen persons. This later grew into a place that accommodated 200 persons.
The police arrested eight persons from Anbu Jothi’s Villupuram home including warden Muthumaari, computer operator Gopinath, attendant Iyyappan, and driver Biju, along with Jubin and Maria on several charges including rape, wrongful confinement, and assault. Two days after finding out about the brutal incidents in the ashram, the police on Wednesday, February 15, also discovered that several other persons were kept in another home in Kottakuppam, 50 kilometres away from Anbu Ashram in Villupuram.
They were also rescued by the police, who recorded stories of horror similar to those at the ashram in Villupuram, from them. They were then admitted to the Government Villupuram Medical College Hospital. So far, the police have found two homes in Tamil Nadu and one in Bengaluru, that are allegedly run by the couple.
The Times of India (TOI) goes into the details of how the inmates were tortured over years, as narrated by them. One of the stories is of a woman from Odisha who was “rescued” from the streets by a group and taken to Anbu Jothi Ashram. “In the next five years, she was repeatedly raped, beaten up, and threatened into silence. When she tried to resist, the employees set two ferocious monkeys that the owner kept in a cage on her,” R Lalitha, a volunteer with Social Awareness Society for Youth told TOI. The report also adds that many women were chained, drugged using sleeping pills, and raped.
TOI also carried the story of a 33-year-old woman from Ulundurpet who was admitted at Anbu Jothi to avail of mental health treatment. A year later, after she recovered from her illness, she met another person in the ashram and married him while Jubin and Maria had gone on a trip to Rajasthan. “On learning about our marriage, they snatched my mangalsutra and separated us within three days of the wedding. I was sent back to the home in Villupuram, and he was retained at the Kottakuppam branch,” the woman had said to TOI.
The officials also found that there had been no inspections in the ashram since its inception in 2005. Villupuram district collector C Palani stated that the district administration has started taking steps to permanently seal the ashram and all its associated branches.
Villupuram Superintendent of Police (SP) N Shreenatha informed that eight persons have been booked under relevant Sections including 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act, 1998. “Four of them have been arrested, two are absconding, and the owner and his wife are in the hospital,” the SP said, adding that the police teams are also investigating the Bengaluru home where 15 persons were said to be transferred from Villupuram.
Shreenatha added that a probe was being conducted on the complaints about the home cremating/burying unidentified and unclaimed bodies in secluded areas of the village. The SP also said that an investigation is underway to find the missing persons from the Bengaluru home.
A TOI investigation has also found that the Tamil Nadu State Mental Health Authority, in September last year, had rejected Anbu Jothi Ashram’s application seeking a license citing that there were no psychiatrists, doctors, adequate staff, a sanitation certificate, lift facilities, or identity proofs of inmates and social workers in the ashram. After the ashram did not reply to the district authorities on the issue, the District Mental Health Authority, in December 2022, ordered an inspection by a committee headed by retired district judge Shanmughanathan. While inadequacy in facilities was found by the committee, they did not record any abuse.
Further, the Villupuram District Differently Abled Welfare Office also found that the ashram did not follow rules as imposed by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The report said that District Disability Officer C Thangavel also sent a notice to the ashram stating that the home shall be shut down if the issues are not rectified, but the ashram did not reply.
It was also found that Jubin took a few of the persons from the home to the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Science (PIMS), and procured prescriptions for sedative medicines. Additionally, a police investigation discovered the network through which Jubin accessed large quantities of scheduled drugs.
A detailed probe into the activities of Anbu Jothi Ashram also revealed its association with the Greater Chennai Police's Karunai Payanam initiative which was intended to identify, rehabilitate, and reunite with families of persons with mental health difficulties from north India who are stranded here. Photos of Jubin with several persons including Health Minister Ma Subramanian and IPS Officer Shankar Jiwal also did rounds on social media. The police, however, have now said that the ashram has been blacklisted.
The police investigating the Anbu Jothi Ashram case said that the couple developed networks with pharmacists and social workers by sharing news clips about his activities. The State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) K Balakrishnan has demanded the Tamil Nadu government to form a special committee and look into all the ashrams and homes in the state. Meanwhile, the investigation of the case has now been transferred to the Crime Branch, Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID).