Shocking details of drugging perfectly healthy people to make them “see Jesus” and convert to Christianity have emerged from a home for the mentally ill in Tamil Nadu. The home was in the news recently after police raided it and found that most victims were perfectly normal. An NCPCR team that investigated the victims found that their limbs were broken to make them look physically disabled.
Anbu Jothi Ashram was in the news a few weeks ago when reports of its inmates being brutally beaten and raped came out. Police and officials raided the home after one of the inmate’s relatives filed a habeas corpus petition. Details of physical, mental and sexual abuse came out during the raid as the inmates revealed that they were drugged, beaten up and raped while in stupor.
The inmates were beaten with rods, pipes, etc and employees used the two monkeys to terrorise them. The ‘ashram’s founder reportedly runs many homes in other states. Many inmates were reported missing from their homes and allegations of organ harvesting were raised. Considering the serious nature of the case, it was transferred to the CB-CID for investigation.
Dr. Anand, a member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), who led the inspection of the home spoke to the media. He revealed the shocking level of drug abuse and how it was used to fake apparitions to dupe the inmates into converting to Christianity. 2 rooms, one known as the Dark Room, where an image of Jesus and religious materials were kept and another where documents were kept were sealed by the team.
Dr Anand informed the media that a child confessed about how the inmates were taken inside the dark room at night and convinced to convert to Christianity while under the influence of drugs. They were told that their pain and disabilities would disappear and they could leave the institution if they accepted Jesus and converted to Christianity. 32,000 tablets which are only available in government hospitals, were recovered from the institute and the NCPCR team has suggested the police department investigate how Jubin Baby got hold of them.
Earlier an investigation by the National Commission for Women(NCW), revealed that Jubin Baby, founder of the home, sent inmates to similar institutions in other states such as Karnataka and Rajasthan for monetary benefits citing space constraints, the need for better medical treatment, etc. Such inmates would be posed as poor and destitute and the homes received funds from foreign countries to maintain them. Jubin Baby named the journey from his home to others as Karunai Payanam meaning Journey of Mercy and begged for funds from foreign donors to sponsor their journey.
