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National Commission for Women (NCW) senior coordinator Kanchan Kattar, on Saturday, February 18, has confirmed that there have been at least two cases of sexual assault at the Anbu Jothi Ashram in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district. “We have constituted a committee and the inquiry is ongoing. Once the committee sends its report, we will give a more concise statement,” she told the media on February 18. NCW members also said, “For now, two women have given complaints of sexual assault to the magisterial judge and we have added those complaints in our report.” NCW also met women victims of the ashram at the hospital they have been admitted in.
The statements come in the wake of shocking revelations about abuse, rape, violence using monkeys, and torture at Anbu Jytohi Ashram, a rehabilitation home in Kundalapuliyur of Villupuram. The home has been functioning for close to two decades without registration or license. Anbu Jothi Ashram was found to have 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. Police discovered that hundreds of people had become victims over the years. Earlier this week, the police rescued 142 persons from the home, including 109 men, 33 women, and one boy. It was further discovered that women inmates had been raped by the employees. Several others were chained, tortured, and attacked by caged monkeys.
The abuses came to light after an Indian-origin man residing in the United States filed a missing persons complaint regarding his father-in-law, over a month ago. According to the complaint, 70-year-old Jawahirullah went missing from the ashram on December 4, 2021. With no clear answers from the ashram, the complainant Salim Khan was eventually forced to file a habeas corpus petition before the Madras High Court. The police probe ordered by the court would eventually lead them to discover the violence and abuse that had gone on at the home run by a couple from Ernakulam in Kerala—Anbu Jubin and Maria. Police also found incidents of abuse in another home, situated 50 kilometers away, affiliated with the same ashram. The police have recorded the arrest of eight persons so far, including the couple.