Asaram 2008

By Japan K Pathak, Ahmedabad, 31 August 2013

Two boys living in Asaram’s Gurukul went missing. It was perhaps Sunday, and accompanied with Gujarat Samachar TV’s then cameraperson Jayram Rabari and one more local TV media boy we went to Asaram Ashram to do a story on this subject. Children’s parents were at ashram. They were angry. The ashram’s version was that both boys were vocal and smart and planning to go to wall city area to watch Rath Yatra. I met Uday Sangani who was dealing with media at that time.

When we came out, we saw one car being surrounded by a group of women including many young girls. The car was moving very slowly, and the girls and the women were walking with it. They were all watching someone sitting inside the car. Then we saw the car stopped and some of the girls were given fruits from inside the car.

We inquired what was going on, and got reply that Asaram’s son Narayan Sai was inside the car and the women and the girls were around his car were from Narayan Sai’s headquarters which was located on Asaram ashram road.

Couple of days after our visit, I received a call from a source informing that dead bodies of missing children were found a few distance away from Asaram ashram on the bank of river Sabarmati. This was a turning point for Asaram. Police case, formation of inquiry commission, fast agitation by parents, agitation by locals of Chandkheda and Ranip areas, anti-Asaram campaign and punish-Asaram drive in all leading newspapers, bandh call by anti-Asaram NGO ‘Jagega Gujarat’, 40 vehicles of Asaram supporters torched in Sabarmati/Chandkheda/Motera area, assault on media persons and locals by Asaram supporters, ransacking of Asaram’s extension activity center in Bapunagar area, termination of Guru purnima event, Asaram supporters’ rally at Sandesh newspaper office, rally of supporters of parents of victim children at Gandhi ashram, and more events followed.

Here I must say what happened to me and my some journalist friends on Guru purnima day. We were there on invitation of ashram to cover the Guru purnima event. As I was approaching the ashram, I saw many rickshaws carrying Asaram’s followers from railway station were being stopped by locals on Sabarmati-Motera road. Many Asaram followers were forced to leave auto rickshaws and asked to walk to the ashram. They were harassed on the road too by locals. The anger against Asaram following death of two students of his Gurukul was expressed this way.

We journalists were asked to sit next to the stage in enclosed area. When I was sitting there, I found a letter lying on the stage. I picked it up and put in my pocket. Later I read it and found that it was written by a father of a girl from rural area of Maharashtra to Asaram. I had made a small story in Gujarat Samachar on that day about this.

Anyways, Asaram Bapu arrived on the stage and gave his speech. On the other hand, locals on Motera road had started burning the vehicles of Asaram followers. 1000s of Asaram followers from all parts of country were arriving at the ashram, and complaining that they were harassed a lot by local people on way to ashram. When such complaints reached Asaram, he said that harassment of our women followers can’t be tolerated. When Asaram ashram follower’s car was attacked near the ashram, the situation went out of the hand. Large number of Asaram followers started leaving the ashram in vehicles to fight back. Continuous announcement on loud speakers system was on instructing to go to help of followers who were trapped on the road.

To witness the clashes, I left ashram and went a few distance away on my two-wheeler. I went atop a flat and started shooting video and clicking the clashes secretly. The situation was so worse that the flat people asked me and others to leave the terrace. When I came down, and stepped outside the apartment, I saw Times of India’s Parth Shastri doing reporting. The Times of India was not as aggressive as Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh against Asaram.

Asaram’s followers had no problem against The Times of India, but I was representing Gujarat Samachar. I had published couple of critical articles on Asaram that day itself. Both me and Parth Shastri were taken to one corner next to the apartment. One aggressive Asaram support had big wooden piece in his hand. He tried to hit it on my hand. But he was accompanied by relatively a wise man in ashram dress. I asked that wise man to intervene and told him that I was invited by ashram’s PRO Uday Sangani, and I was there on his invitation, therefore they should first ask Uday Sangani and then take any decision to punish me. They agreed. Parth Shastri and I were taken to ladder of same apartment. I tried to call police through my mobile phone, but police was asking our location, and I had no clue about apartment’s name! Suddenly one of the two Asaram supporters who had almost kidnapped us and forcefully kept us on that ladder arrived there and snatched away my mobile and threw it. I lost my mobile and sim card thus. After some consultation on phone, the Asaram supporters took us to Asaram ashram. One Asaram supporters was sitting on my front, other one on my back on my two-wheeler. Parth Shastri was from Times of India, and Asaram supporters said they had no complain against him or his newspaper. On way to ashram, hundreds of Asaram supporters were steering at us. We had to be careful. Little change in our body language too could invite attack. Both of us were taken to Uday Sangani. The minute Uday saw me, he rushed to me with smile and immediately apologized. Those two persons who had kidnapped us and brought here understood the thing and left. We all journalists were kept in ashram’s room near the gate. Asaram followers were standing outside and wanted to storm the room in which we media persons were kept. Then we saw arrival of Kuldeepsingh Kaler – a Divya Bhaskar reporter. He was cruelly beaten by Asaram followers. He was in deep shock. Inside the ashram room, we started dialing phones to other journalist friends, police and even Home minister.

Perhaps it was senior police officer JK Bhatt who came with 108 ambulance to rescue us from that room. All media friends were asked to board the ambulance. We left our vehicles there and reached Civil hospital where couple of injured media friends were treated. TV9 journalist helped me and dropped me to my home. In the evening I filed story on ashram event. senior reporter Bharat Lakhtaria, Education reporter Hemant Joshi and Crime reporter Kamal Bhavsar accompanied me late in the evening to Asaram ashram gate, and I took back my vehicle. The scene of that evening was memorable. The city administration had put dozens of special buses on road to vacate the ashram. Hundreds of Asaram followers were being shifted to railway station with police escort, so that they could leave the city safely.

I refused to file police complaint, but asked Uday Sangani to pay me the damages of Rs. 5,000 as I had lost my mobile phone costing Rs. 10,000. He along with his team members came to my place later on and gave me Rs. 5,000, through which I bought a new mobile phone.

I told them that lakhs of people from tribal and rural belt influenced by Christian Missionaries follow Asaram, and therefore Asaram should behave in more responsible manner in future.