TN Police transfer Villupuram 'ashram' case to CB-CID

With the possibility of human trafficking not ruled out at the Anbu Jothi Ashram in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu DGP, C. Sylendra Babu transferred the case to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Feb 18. Villupuram police who went to the ashram to enquire on a missing complaint earlier this month stumbled upon the horror tale, wherein several destitute and mentally ill persons who were rescued off the road were chained and raped by those who ran the ashram. More than 100 inmates were rescued from the ashram, which was operating without requisite licenses from the government bodies for more than a decade. Villupuram Police had booked eight persons, including the Founder-owner of the Ashram, Jubin Baby, and his wife, Maria - both from Kerala. Villupuram Police were also investigating a possible human trafficking angle.