(Trigger Warning: Descriptions of rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion advised.)
Eight months after a 21-year-old teacher at an Ujjain ashram helped a minor rape survivor who was walking door to door seeking help, the Madhya Pradesh police on Wednesday, 1 May, arrested him, along with a caretaker for allegedly sexually abusing three male minor students at their ashram.
Speaking to The Quint, Ujjain Superintendent of Police (SP) Pradeep Sharma said that three First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against 21-year-old Rahul Sharma, and ashram caretaker Ajay Thakur at the Mahakal police station.
The FIRs were registered under sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as under multiple sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
While police officials said that the accused have been sent to judicial custody, the minor students told The Quint that there are more survivors who haven’t filed a complaint yet.
'Acharya Ji Removed My Kurta…': Minors Share Ordeal
Located on the outskirts of Ujjain, the Dandi Ashram had a total of six acharyas where over a 100 minors study.
In the FIR accessed by The Quint, one of the minor survivors, a Class 9 student and resident of Rajgarh district, mentioned in detail the alleged sexual assault he faced in the hands of Rahul Sharma.
“…Acharya ji came to my room and asked me to marry him, but I refused and asked him not to speak with me that way. On 9 April, which is the first day of Chaitra Navratri, Rahul acharya ji locked the room's door from inside and removed my kurta... He told me that if I told anyone about this, he would kill me... I was scared, so I did not tell this to anyone…"
According to the survivor's mother, a single parent, both her sons were allegedly harassed in the ashram. "I sent my elder son to the ashram, but he complained of harassment. Initially, I thought my child was making excuses to not study... but I had to get him out of there around two years ago," the mother said.
"Last year I sent my younger son to Ashram. I didn't know and never imagined that those whom I trusted with my children would exploit them sexually… my child is scared,” the survivor's mother told The Quint.
Speaking to The Quint, a minor survivor also narrated the incident of a similar incident that happened to one of the other boys studying in the ashram.
“I came here one year ago, and I am studying in class 9. Around three months back, it would have been 11:30 pm, when one of our batchmates went inside guruji’s (Rahul Sharma's) room. After some time, we heard him screaming and crying. We all rushed to the door, but it was locked. He came out crying and did not speak to us… The next morning, he told us how guruji did bad things (sexually assaulted) to him.”Minor survivor to The Quint
The survivor said that post the incident, the above-mentioned boy, who was an orphan, was taken away from the ashram by his uncle.
In September 2023, a CCTV footage had emerged of a minor girl, partially clothed and bleeding on the streets of Ujjain, after she was allegedly raped by an autorickshaw driver.
Rahul Sharma had helped the survivor – and was then hailed as a hero. After the incident, speaking to this reporter, Sharma had said, "Khoon se lathpath the uss bachchi ke pair, mujhse dekha nahi gaya. (Her legs were blood-soaked; I couldn't bear seeing her)".
Other students in the ashram alleged to The Quint that there are more students who faced sexual assault, but are afraid to come forward.
In the second FIR, a 12-year-old minor survivor from Dewas district, alleged that Ajay Thakur had sexually harassed him for four days between 9 April and 14 April.
"He kept teasing me from 9 April to 14 April. Tired of Ajay acharya's actions, I went to another acharya's room, and called my father through his phone and told him about the incident on 15 April. My father picked me up on 16 April and I went back home with him," the FIR stated.
In the second FIR, sections 11 (sexual harassment) and 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the POCSO Act were registered.
SP Pradeep Sharma said that the issue came to the forefront after one of the minor survivors, who returned home, told his parents regarding the alleged assault.
“One of the students who returned to his home told his parents, and from there, the issue came to the fore. Several parents reached the ashram and then the police were called in. Three separate FIRs have been registered. One under section 377 (unnatural sex) of the IPC, and two under the relevant sections of the POCSO Act have been registered, and both Ajay Thakur and Rahul Sharma have been sent to judicial custody."Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma
Dandi Ashram Suspends Thakur
Soon after the incident, Gajanand Saraswati, an official from Dandi Ashram, told mediapersons on 1 May that Ajay Thakur had been suspended after they received complaints of harassment.
“I was out of town when I got two calls from two parents who complained about Ajay acharya, alleging that he does bad things to children, and I had removed him…. When the parents formed a group and came to the ashram a few days back alleging sexual assault against the acharyas, I called the local police station who came and took both the accused acharyas and the parents to the police station.”Dandi Ashram official
However, Rahul Sharma is yet to be suspended.
Another parent, whose child is studying in class 9 of the ashram for over a year, told The Quint that the incident took time to come to light as students were afraid to speak up.
“When I went to bring my child home, I met other parents…. Children are afraid and in shock due to these incidents, so they aren't speaking freely. After all, how can a child of 10-12 years bear all this? We are united in the proceedings and determined to ensure that the guilty people are put behind bars…. This happened today, here, it might happen tomorrow again…” the parent said.
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