The parents of a minor boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a student at the Isha Foundation in Coimbatore have come forward to speak aboutthe concernsabout the institution. The mother claimed that she volunteered for two years at the foundation till June 2024 as a political science teacher, in an attempt to learn more and gain evidence on the wrongdoings at the place.
Narender and Yamini (names changed), parents of a boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student during his schooling at the foundation, spoke at a media gathering in Hyderabad’s Press Club on Thursday (October 17, 2024). “We found out about this during the COVID-19 lockdown. I was cleaning the house and found notes by my son where he mentioned about the assault and wrote that he was feeling suicidal. Many of our emails to the foundation were replied to by WhatsApp calls, probably in an attempt to not leave any digital trail. We were told that the other boy ‘comes from an elite family’,” said Ms. Yamini.
Speaking about her experience and her findings, Ms. Yamini said that she is both a ‘victim and a witness’. “We initially didn’t go to the police as we gave the place a benefit of the doubt and valued Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. However, seeing how there are reports of other sexual assault cases, children going missing and poor management, schooling, even after charging lakhs of rupees in fees, I decided to speak about this,” she said.
Another mother of a seven-year-old girl, who wished to remain anonymous, alleged that her daughter too was sexually assaulted at the foundation in Coimbatore. Addressing the mediavia WhatsApp call from Tamil Nadu, she said, “We believed that Jaggi baba is a god and there were no doubts about him. But I am one of the several parents whose child was raped several times by the teachers in Isha Home School in Coimbatore. She even attempted to kill herself. The PoCSO case has now come to the Supreme Court and we are ready to expose him. Our children are not safe at the Isha Foundation. Time has come to expose the cult,” said the woman.
Ms. Yamini and her husband alleged that the students are made to wake up at 3 a.m. and take a cold water shower to meditate topless. “The girls are not comfortable with this. They have such long days and rarely get any rest,” they said. They claimed that they have proof of email chain correspondence between two faculty members writing to Jaggi Vasudev about this issue and the practise to be stopped. “We will be approaching the police with all the proof and hope justice is done,” they concluded.
Published – October 17, 2024 04:23 pm IST
