Five girls rescued from raid in Dixit's Dwarka ashram

New Delhi: Five girls were rescued on Saturday by a team of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and Delhi Police from an ashram in Dwarka, run by self-styled godman Virender Dev Dixit.

The Commission said that on Friday night, a Delhi High Court appointed team comprising DCW chief Swati Jai Hind, advocate Ajay Verma and police personnel, inspected the ashram at Dwarka's Mohan Garden area.

"Though the high court had ordered the ashram's lawyer to provide addresses of the eight ashrams in Delhi, the details were not provided. DCW, through its own sources, located the address of the Ashram at Mohan Garden," said a DCW official.

21 girls were found to be confined in the ashram, in conditions similar to that of girls who were earlier rescued from the Rohini ashram.

The Dwarka ashram was much smaller, but had prison like conditions where girls were locked behind closed doors.

The official added that stacks of medicines were found and no records were maintained to where the girls had come from and how long they had been staying. When inquired about their condition, many girls gave evasive.

"Many of these girls were reported to be psychologically ill, and were shifted here from the Rohini ashram for treatment," said the official.

Locals said that before the DCW visit many girls had been moved from the premises that morning, with cars going in and coming out of the ashram. They also reportedly often heard loud cries of girls at night

After its inspection at the ashram, DCW requested Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairperson Sabrina Sabarwal to interact with the ashram's girls and pass necessary orders.

Sabharwal reached the Dwarka ashram on Saturday morning, along with Jai Hind, and ordered a rescue operation, which was by conducted by DCW with the help of Delhi Police. Five rescued girls would taken to a shelter home.

On her Twitter account, Jain Hind shared photographs of some books found in the ashram, which advocated that the "girls should sleep with the baba, if they have impure thoughts."

DCW sources said another ashram, located in Palam, has been identified and soon a team will inspect it.

Meanwhile, responding to allegations that the former DCP of Rohini had visited the ashram, Delhi Police PRO Madhur Verma told reporters, "He had gone to inquire a complaint where a family from Rajasthan said their daughter was being exploited in the ashram. The daughter told police that she did not want to meet her family and was staying at the ashram out of her own choice."