Self-styled godman Virendra Dev Dixit, accused of confining women and girls in his ashrams, features in the second list of "fake babas" released by the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of Hindu sadhus, here today.
The list consists of three names- Virendra Dev Dixit Delhi), Sachidanand Saraswati (Basti, UP) and Trikal Bhawant (Allahabad).
Releasing the list, the parishad's president Swami Narendra Giri said, "We appeal to even the common people to beware of such charlatans who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis."
The parishad is a council of akharas, which are monastic orders drawing their spiritual lineage from 8th-century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma.
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On September 10, it released the first list of 14 such self-styled godmen which included names such as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Radhey Ma, Nirmal Baba, Rampal, Asaram Bapu and his son Narayan Sai.
The parishad took the move in the wake of controversies surrounding self-styled godmen.
"We have passed a resolution that the Uttar Pradesh government should set up a monitoring committee which would keep a close eye on the work being done for Kumbh Mela, 2019 and this committee should consist of a member from each akharas," Giri said.
Last week, three centres run by Dixit were raided by the police in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and 47 women and six minor girls were rescued.
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A Delhi Police team went to an ashram in Dwarka in the national capital and rescued five minor girls, who were allegedly kept confined there.
Uttar Pradesh Police also raided two centres run by Dixit at Siktarbad and Kampil respectively and rescued 47 women and a girl.
Delhi Women Commission chief Swati Maliwal had said the Dwarka ashram had "prison-like surroundings" and the inmates there were kept locked.
