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Why 150-member police team visited Sadhguru's Isha Foundation in Tamil Nadu
The high court had ordered the Tamil Nadu government to submit the details of all criminal cases against the Isha Foundation.
A police team of 150 personnel visited the Isha Foundation's centre at Thondamuthur after the Madras high court sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on all criminal cases registered against spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev's institution.
The high court had ordered the Tamil Nadu government to submit the details of all criminal cases against the Isha Foundation while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by S Kamaraj, a retired professor from Coimbatore.
Kamaraj alleged his two daughters were brainwashed to live at the Isha Yoga Centre in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore. He said the foundation wasn't allowing them to remain in contact with their family.
Isha Foundation has denied the allegation. It said it doesn't ask people to attain monkhood.
"Isha Foundation was founded by Sadhguru to impart yoga and spirituality to people. We believe that adult individual human beings have the freedom and the wisdom to choose their path," the foundation said in a statement.
Isha Foundation said the person's daughters had said they were staying of their own volition.
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"They have clearly stated that they are staying in Isha Yoga Center on their own volition. Now that the matter is seized by the court, we hope that truth will prevail and there is an end to all unnecessary controversies," the statement added.
The foundation claimed that the petitioner tried to trespass into the premises under a false pretext of being a fact-finding committee to enquire about the crematorium being constructed by the foundation.
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According to the Indian Express, three DSPs were part of the 150-strong team.
The yoga centre told the newspaper that the police had come to make a general inquiry about residents and volunteers. They also tried to understand the lifestyle of those who live at the centre.
The Madras high court had observed why Sadhguru's daughter was married and well-settled and he was encouraging other women to shave their heads and renounce worldly life.
