Police to probe alleged burial of children at Asaram's ashram

JAMMU: After directions by a local court, Jammu Police will probe into the allegations that three children, who died under mysterious circumstances, were buried at Asaram Bapu's ashram near Bhagwati Nagar area here.

"We will probe the allegations of burial of children at the ashram here," SSP (Jammu) Atul Goel said today.

A local court had directed the police on Saturday to probe the allegations of Bhola Nath, an ex-caretaker of Asaram's Jammu ashram, that the children, who died under mysterious circumstances, were buried in the complex.

Nath had levelled these allegations while talking to TV a channel around two weeks back.

The controversial self-styled godman is already in jail along with some of his associates in the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl at his Jodhpur ashram.

Earlier in 2008, two minor boys were found dead under mysterious circumstances near Asaram's Ahmedabad ashram.

The SSP said police are trying to contact Nath in order to start the probe into these charges.

"We are trying to contact him but have not been able to get him till now," Goel said.

The court had passed the order on a petition filed by a social activist Raj Kumar.

Kumar had pleaded that if given protection, Nath was ready to guide police to the burial site of the children at the ashram near Bhagwati Nagar.