HYDERABAD: Eerie silence shrouds Godamakunta village. Two days ago, seven girls were rescued from the Aumaujaya Ashram here. Not many in the village are comfortable talking about the self-styled godman Om Jai Baba who ran the ashram. Most of them claim they knew nothing about Om Jai Baba, who is from Adilabad, or the fact that there were women in the campus.
“All of the sudden last year, this huge complex sprung up here from nowhere,” says a local resident Susheela, talking about the ashram. “They offered my husband a job but the conditions were strict -- like no smoking and drinking -- so he was not keen. They did not allow women older than 19 inside the ashram so I never went,” she says.
Villagers say only one man used to come out of the ashram daily, to buy groceries and vegetables. “We thought the ashram was not always functional,” says another resident. The baba also seems to have maintained a low profile. People say that the waiting period for his darshan sometimes was as long as 15 days.
Located in the outskirts, the ashram had all modern security features. The two-storey building had electrical fencing and CCTV cameras to monitor movements. The campus reportedly has six rooms and two meditation halls of which one is an underground facility. Many politicians reportedly used to make a beeline at the ashram.
On Tuesday, when Express visited the ashram, around 10 devotees were seen visiting to express solidarity with the godman. Wearing jewellery emblazoned with the logo of the ashram -- the sun, moon and a star -- one of the devotees claimed the ‘truth’ would be out soon. “Guruji has done nothing wrong.” Later, addressing a press conference, an ashram representative denied any wrongdoing. “We have never demanded money from our followers,” he claimed reacting to allegations that followers were asked to pay `6 lakh. “They themselves deposited the money as charity and are falsely claiming we demanded it,” he said.
He also said that the ashram did not allow a mother to meet her child as that was the practice followed. “Whenever we take in a new admission they sign a bond stating they can’t meet their parents as and when they desire. Going by these rules, we denied them from meeting. There has been no illegal confinement,” the representative added. They also denied any use of drugs in the campus. Going by the videos and promotional posts released by the ashram, they had a separate holy book, bearing motifs of the sun, moon and a star.
A group of youngsters called Ayusa, which appears to be an offshoot of the ashram, has been undertaking social welfare activities. There was also a picture of Mayor Bonthu Rammohan participating in their work.
Is baba the black sheep?
Even as seven women rescued from the Aumaujaya Ashram were handed over back to their families, cops geared up to send an inquiry notice to Om Jai Baba alias Nagachary. Hailing from Nirmal, the baba holds a masters in philosophy and worked with a private company before switching sectors to ‘spiritualism’.Soon after he started his first ashram in Jawaharnagar, three more sprung up at Keesara, Bowenpally and Mumbai. Cops said that they were gathering more evidences on claims against the baba