A five-storey building, painted white, stands tall in Rohini’s Vijay Vihar. Painted across several floors in red and blue is ‘Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya (AVV) Godfatherly Spiritual University’. Women, aged between 50 and 60, sit on chairs and cots inside the premises, behind a closed gate on Wednesday afternoon.
After much hesitation, the women who call themselves ‘mata’ (mother), denied the allegations of rape and illegal confinement that have been levelled against the institution. “They are all lies. None of it is true. It’s a conspiracy and it’s getting attention because of babas like Ram Rahim and Asaram,” said one of the ‘matas’, who refused to share her name.
‘Ideal way of living’
The women, about 8 in number, were sitting together, dressed in light pink sarees. They claimed that the building is a spiritual and educational institution where girls are protected and taught. “We all live here as a family. Little girls are taught the ideal way of living and teachings of Krishna through Bhagavad Gita,” said one of the women, who claimed to be a resident of Hari Nagar.
She claimed to be associated with the place for the last 20 years and travels to the institute every day. “I was earlier associated with the Brahma Kumaris Spiritual Institute, which was also connected to AVV but later parted. I realised that the education on god here was far superior and stuck with AVV,” she said.
Asked about a typical day at the institute, one of the women told this reporter that they wake up at 2 a.m. and then study ‘Murli’ (teachings of the Gita) for the next two hours. “Around 4 a.m., everyone takes a bath and then we have a spiritual class at 5 a.m. followed by another at 6:30 a.m. After that, everyone studies for the next few hours and also prepares food in between,” she said.
Restricted entry
For lunch, the women said, they prepare dal and roti. For dinner, it’s mandatory to prepare ‘Khichdi’ which they partake together. As locals gather outside the institute, along with deployment of at least 50 police personnel, attempts to talk to the women were met with them shouting, “ Jhoot bol rahe ho… jhooton ka muh kala hoga (You’re lying)”.
Locals alleged that the institute remains closed to them and whenever they’ve tried to go inside, the caretakers have refused. “If they’re not doing anything wrong, why not allow people to come inside? It’s a university after all,” asks Mamta, a resident. When asked about this, the women answered, “Would you allow entry to anyone who wants to come into your house?”.
The locals alleged that there’s activity at the institute only at night and nothing through the day. “Young girls, including foreigners, come in the night in black SUVs. This mostly happens between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m.,” alleged Manju Bansal.
Locals also alleged the presence of a “tunnel” from inside the institute to the opposite building. However, when questioned if any complaints were made to the police, the residents denied. “They don’t say anything to us and we don’t say anything to them. There was absolutely no communication. The matter picked up pace in the second week of November when a Rajasthan-based family came to meet their daughter,” said Mamta.
Recalling an incident last month, another resident, Gambhira Jha, claimed that the family had come to take their daughter on November 11 but the caretakers refused to allow them inside. Next day, the family came with 200 people and also gathered locals but to no avail. After this they approached the police and court.
Ms. Jha also claimed to have spoken to a “12-year-old victim who was rescued” from the institute six months ago. “The girl told me that she was raped by Virendra Dixit, the founder of the ashram,” she alleged.
However, the women inside the institute claimed that no girl residing inside the institute is kept forcefully and are staying there voluntarily.
“We don’t force any girl to live here. They’re free to go but they themselves don’t want to. They’ve renounced their families and are willingly on the path to meet god,” claimed one of the women.
