Cult of Fear: Asaram Bapu (2025) s01e01 Episode Script
Business of Enlightenment
1
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
Think about why "The
Mahabharata" happened,
only then will you
understand the story.
Why did it happen?
That's the case
in this story too.
How did the children go missing?
And why did this happen to them?
Only we know the game
that fate has played with us.
He is my elder brother.
Dipesh was my son.
Abhishek was Shantilal's son.
(SOFT MUSIC)
The Asaram Ashram ran a
Gurukul (BOARDING SCHOOL),
so we enrolled Abhishek
and Dipesh there.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
On 3rd July, I received a
call from the boarding school.
They informed us that
Abhishek and Dipesh are missing.
I went, "What?"
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
The Ashram people made
us go around in circles
and we continued
being deceived for hours.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
An officer at Chandkheda
Police Station told us
that numerous children have
gone missing like this in the past.
Your children might
not be found as well.
Why?
What do I do?
Asaram was considered
as one of the leading
spiritual preachers of Gujarat.
Asaram Bapu addressed the
crowd for hours with his eyes closed.
And whoever he saw
once he opened his eyes,
they would become blissful.
Hari Om! Hari Om! Hari Om!
If he said, "Jump off a
cliff," the disciple would do it.
Because a disciple's
good fortune
lies in following the
Guru's commands.
It is very doubtful.
If justice will ever be
served in a case like this.
That's when lots of
details about this Godman
started coming out.
There were stories of assaults,
there were stories of land grabs.
How he ran his financial empire.
I dedicated everything I had
to him, even the way I thought.
I did not even have
the freedom to think.
He is no God, he is the Devil.
(UNSETTLING MUSIC)
People don't go into cults
thinking this is a terrible place to be,
they go in thinking this is
the best thing for my family.
I am not under any obligation to
respond to baseless allegations.
Accuse me of whatever
you want, I don't care.
When Bapu has done nothing wrong,
then why should he be disrespected?
-Om! Om! Om!
-(CROWD SHOUTING)
Om! Om! Om!
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
In a cult you don't
see from the front stage
what's really going on in the back
by this psychopathic cult leader.
Does our country have a
different law for Asaram?
(CROWD CLAMOURING)
Please answer my question.
Asaram Bapu has
the mass support
But the truth always wins.
Come what may,
an honest person
will never back down.
(THEME SONG)
(MUSIC FADES)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
I come from a
middle-class family.
My mother has always been
very religious and spiritual.
We were taught to pray
as soon as we woke
up in the morning.
I passed with
distinction till class 10th.
After 10th class, I was a
medical science student.
I was living a good life.
But after class 12th,
I came in contact with Asaram Bapu
and got influenced by his teachings.
I used to believe
that Asaram is God.
After that I was
dedicated to finding God.
Till the time I got married, I
used to hate spiritual leaders.
I was a crime reporter
and a very arrogant one.
My mother-in-law believed
that when I have a child,
it would also
inherit these traits.
And that would
make our lives harder.
She was always
worried about this.
One day while watching
television, she came across Asaram
and she wanted to
introduce me to this saint.
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
I was anyway used to
meeting senior politicians,
so meeting Asaram
was no big deal.
So I told her, "Okay,
let's meet him."
There was a message
running on the TV ticker below
that Saint Asaram
Bapu is in Panipat.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
In 1995, 1996, he had organised
a programme in Panipat, Haryana.
A lot of people were
attending, even I attended.
That day Asaram Bapu said
he will initiate us the next day
and asked us to bring
an initiation kit along.
I didn't know what an initiation
prayer was and why it's done.
Initiation means
a person's commitment to
sacrifice what is necessary
to overcome suffering,
misfortune, sin and adversity.
I was a devotee of Lord Ganesha
but Asaram Bapu did not
recite any prayer related to him.
Outside I heard a crow cawing.
So I decided, the prayer on
which the crow caws three times,
I will raise my
hand for that prayer.
Now, as soon as Asaram
Bapu recited the first prayer,
the crow cawed
thrice, "Caw, caw, caw."
So then I raised my hand.
I had common pregnancy
issues like nausea and dizziness.
From the moment I
began chanting the prayer,
all of these issues stopped.
As my faith in Asaram
Bapu deepened,
I could feel distinct
changes in my life.
I felt that the changes
I was feeling within me,
was because of the power
of chanting the prayers.
For hours Asaram Bapu would
be immersed in a divine trance
and continued to be
in that state of trance,
and when he would
suddenly open his eyes,
those in front of him
would become blissful.
We all made attempts
that when Asaram Bapu
opened his eyes from his trance,
his gaze settles on us.
We always had this desire.
When he would sing devotional
songs and dance on the stage,
we believed that he is
completely immersed in spirituality
and devotion to God.
He is dancing to the
rhythm of his devotion,
he must be a great saint.
The day I was
initiated, I had decided
that I will serve the Guru,
attain salvation, and
lead a successful life.
So I devoted myself
to Asaram's Ashram.
Like jaggery, if your heart
is sweet and full of warmth,
and you make spiritual
awakening your life's purpose,
then every deed of yours
becomes an act of devotion.
A dedicated disciple is someone
who has renounced
all worldly ties
and has decided to spend
the rest of his life in the Ashram.
My family was against my
decision to go live in the Ashram,
but I refused to listen to them
and was determined to
join the Asaram Ashram.
Just as the waves and
the ocean are one in nature,
similarly you cannot distinguish
between Guru from God.
It's difficult to
corroborate exactly
how much of Asaram's
known early life is true.
Roughly what I have heard is that
his full name is Asumal Harpalani.
You know, he is
of Sindhi origin.
His parents moved here at
some point into post-partition India.
When Asaram Bapu was
born, everyone said that
one day he will
become a great saint.
He will enlighten
the whole world.
Wherever his Guru
held religious gatherings,
Asaram served him as a servant.
He arrived in the Motera region
of Ahmedabad in the 1980s.
This region is on the
outskirts of Ahmedabad,
near the Sabarmati River.
At the time, his age
was around 24 years.
When Asaram Bapu started
addressing crowds and giving sermons,
word spread about him gradually
and people came to
know of him as a saint.
Soon after, influential people
also started following him.
He operated as a bootlegger
running his business near the
banks of the Sabarmati River.
In a span of just
10 to 15 years,
he transformed from
Asumal to Asaram.
(CROWD CLAMOURING)
Wherever Bapu sets
his feet in some place,
he can immediately tell
the history of that place.
Then he built an
Ashram in Ahmedabad.
It's a beautiful Ashram.
If you go to Asaram's Ashram,
you will find steps
behind the Ashram
which lead
straight to the river.
In this way, he even encroached
on the Sabarmati River.
It was believed
that any land Asaram
touched would become his.
(RIVETING MUSIC)
He also encroached
on the neighbouring land.
At the time, the
government didn't intervene.
If any legal proceedings were
undertaken, people would argue
that their saints
were being harassed.
During that time,
he distributed free groceries
among the labourers.
He also addressed their
psychosomatic problems
and healed them somehow.
When Asaram Bapu
visited tribal areas,
he would speak against people
trying to convert their religion.
He would preach
about Lord Krishna's teachings
in "The Bhagavad Gita."
When you feel that your
religion is under threat
and if someone is
protecting your religion,
then you should respect him.
Bapu made 70,000 people
revert to Hinduism within a month.
This is no small feat.
As a result, the number
of his followers grew.
After Ahmedabad, he
built an Ashram in Surat.
He also built Ashrams in
Himmatnagar, Pindval and Kutch.
As Asaram Bapu's popularity
grew, his followers also increased.
Asaram's popularity
here was so prominent
that if you get off at
Kalupur railway station
and ask an autorickshaw driver
to take you to Bapu's Ashram,
he would take you
to Asaram's Ashram
instead of Mahatma Gandhi's.
I am a construction
labour contractor.
My family is quite religious.
Since childhood I had an
inclination to learn about God.
So I was looking for
ways to get closer to God.
How to identify God?
One of my friends
asked me if I have a Guru.
I told him, "No, I
don't have a Guru."
My friend advised me
that to achieve the qualities
I want, I'll need a Guru.
So I asked him "who
can be that Guru?"
He said there's a saint
called Asaram nearby.
So I decided to make
Asaram Bapu my Guru.
My entire family including my
son Abhishek, my two daughters
and my wife, all of us went
to the Ashram to get initiated.
(WOMAN SOBBING)
I stayed there for 10-12 days.
We prayed at the spot
where Bapu meditated
and we spent the entire
day there in his service.
I only had one goal
and that was to attain
the same knowledge of
this universe like Bapu.
(TENSE MUSIC)
I have never had any education
in what a cult looked like.
And I got involved
with a political cult.
And when I got out I had
this question, you know,
"How could this happen to me?"
Because people think
that these things are good.
People don't go into cults
thinking this is a terrible place to be.
They go in thinking, this is
the best thing for my family.
And it's not until you have been
fully immersed into the group
that you begin to hear
what the cult is really about.
Life inside the
Ashram is very tough.
We weren't praying to God, we
were only worshipping Asaram.
Every morning at 5:15 a.m.
everyone had to be
present at the chanting hall.
If you failed to attend, you
would not be given one meal.
So in a way, one was
forced to be present.
I don't know of any cult
that lets people sleep long.
You may even have
nutritional deficits
because there may be
various specific dietary controls.
And then you have
to serve endlessly.
He demanded laborious work
from the newly enrolled disciples.
(MACHINE WHIRRING)
You can't let your
followers have free time
or they may go and do something
else or have time to think.
(CROWD PRAYING)
Reading newspapers
and watching television
was completely
restricted in the Ashram.
Newspapers were
considered garbage
and we were instructed
not to read them.
We were told to read books
published by the Ashram.
When you read books like, "Guru
Gita" and "Guru Bhakti Yoga,"
they explain it all.
You are getting messages about
the outside world
being a negative energy
or, you know, words like that.
And then there's
gonna be this shift.
"You know you really
should be more disciplined
if you care about your
development or your spiritual path."
We were told to
protect ourselves
from the vibrations
emitted by women.
So we did exactly that.
There should be no
physical relationships
and not even
social relationships.
Even conversations with
women were discouraged.
The men would
go to such extremes
that they even refused to
eat the food served by women.
If a meal is cooked
in the Ashram
and if a woman happens
to look at that food,
even then we would
not eat that food.
This was our mindset.
It was taught to
us in the Ashram
"Guru agya hi kevalam,
shishasya param mangalam."
It means the Guru's order is
the holy duty of the disciple.
If the Guru tells the
disciple to consume poison,
then they will do
as they are told
because it's their duty to
obey the Guru's command.
If the Guru says "jump off a
cliff," the disciple would do it.
Because a Guru's command
is of utmost importance
to the disciple.
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
You are kind of living
on a different planet.
And that's really the essence
of a process of brainwashing.
Life in the Ashram
is that of sacrifice
and not that of indulgence.
If you want to live
an indulgent life,
then you have to leave
this life of renunciation.
They want more from people.
They want more money from people.
They want more time from people.
They want more adoration.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
You will also be
able to understand
Asaram's meteoric
rise in terms of following,
if you understand
India's economic situation.
From the '90s till now,
India's economic
divide is only increasing.
People want answers to life
because they believe that, you know,
maybe a divine power will help me
to get where I want to get.
So cable TV starts some
time in the early '90s,
but catches on really
in the mid to late '90s.
And I think one of the peak
moments of cable television,
one is the "K-series"
and the other is "Kaun
Banega Crorepati".
At the same time that's
when another channel
suddenly pops up on the
horizon called Aastha channel.
Asaram also came in and
he started giving his sermons.
You must have heard
this for the first time.
"Bh" "Ga" "Wa" "N" (GOD)
Asaram Bapu realised
that there's a way of
getting beamed directly
into people's homes.
The internet wasn't around,
social media wasn't around.
Television was where people learned
about products, services, religion,
programming,
entertainment, all of it.
There's definitely a transition
in the way he is playing to
a certain kind of audience.
Aastha channel was
supposed to be religion
but here is them
talking about everything.
And people like it. It
actually draws in more people.
To those who are taking
liberties with Indian culture,
I request them with bowed
hands to change their ways else
Om!
-Om! Om! Om!
-(CROWD CHANTING OM)
What you see is this pretty
attractive performance.
It's very useful
to cult leaders.
You know, it's
just another way in.
So you don't see
from the front stage
what's really going
on in the back,
which is, that this is run by
this psychopathic cult leader.
"Who is Asaram Bapu to you?"
"Bapu is my father."
Aye-haye!
Could you say a
few words in English?
You've come from Europe.
And you feel Bapu
is a very hot man
and so and so, as
you like, you can speak.
Okay?
Okay.
Bapu, I love you.
Aye.
Oh! Bapu's hit a home run!
So Asaram, he realised
after a point of time
that "how can I monetise this?"
It started with soap,
incense sticks, candles
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
If God is selling me
something, I am going to buy it.
That's when he also starts
to make a lot of money.
It's believed that his worth
would be in tens of
thousands of crores.
Asaram Bapu's enlightenment
and knowledge of the universe
is not limited to
just this universe.
It spans across all universes.
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)
These shocking clips
are from Saint Asaram's
helicopter crash.
Without the power of
the prayers within me,
this accident could
have turned fatal.
Whatever happened
with the helicopter,
it broke into three
parts, I fell from the sky
and yet I have
come out unharmed.
All hail!
He is omnipotent.
Please don't mistake him
to be an ordinary person.
There is so much more
to him than meets the eye.
Asaram was
building up his empire.
(INDISTINCT OVERLAPPING VOICES)
His son also appears.
I mean it's sort of spirituality
which is being passed
down through DNA,
programmed into
both father and son.
Very often a doctor is
born in a doctor's family,
an actor is born
in an actor's family,
so undoubtedly a saint will
be born into a saint's family.
When the respect for Asaram
Bapu reached new heights,
many people
started following him.
People would think
because he is Bapu's son
they can get his blessings
if Bapu is out of reach.
Later he also started
serving people like Bapu.
He also conducted
religious gatherings.
In this way, he also
gained followers.
Is there anyone who dares to
compare himself to Narayan?
He's worshipped globally.
Have you heard his sermons?
The managers of the Ashram
are in direct contact with
Asaram Bapu and Narayan Sai,
as they have to report to
them on a regular basis.
Since I had to report to them,
I also came under their radar.
Narayan Sai made me
his personal assistant.
We had faith in him because
he was the son of our Guru.
The Guru's son is also
respected and worshipped.
Whenever Narayan Sai wanted
to conduct his programmes,
I would make all
the arrangements.
Narayan Sai would tell
me that he is a celibate
and if there ever was a
Narayan Sai sperm bank,
then the society will have
superior children like him.
Asaram's son believes
that, you know, he has this
mesmerising effect on women.
He believes of course
that he is Lord Krishna
and, you know, his
eyes are hypnotic.
And this animal charm about him.
Narayan Sai's driver seemed
upset since a few days.
Since we were nearly the
same age, I asked him one day,
"Why have you been so upset
lately? What's bothering you?"
(CAR APPROACHING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
He started crying and told me,
"Narayan orders me to take
the car in the middle of the night
and bring him a girl."
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
"I would bring a girl for him
around 1:30 a.m. in the night.
And at around 3:00 a.m.
he would again tell me
to hide that girl in the boot
of the car and drop her off.
I don't know what's going on."
I told him, "It's nothing,
you've gone mad.
This must be some
divine act of the Guru.
Just leave it."
He said, "No, the
girls don't just visit him,
there is some sort of sexual
activity going on as well."
I asked him to show me.
The first time I saw it, I
couldn't believe my eyes.
Why? Because
(POIGNANT MUSIC)
because
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
May I have some water, please?
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
I couldn't believe my eyes
because I had blind
faith in my Guru.
And when I saw my Guru
with a woman in a
compromising situation,
I could not believe my eyes.
I could've never imagined
that something this
disgusting can happen.
I realised that this
man is no saint or God.
He is a characterless
and hedonistic person.
I felt in a way my
life was finished.
I left everything and came here.
I dedicated everything
I had to them,
including my thoughts.
I wasn't even free to
have a mind of my own.
And he was no God,
he was the Devil.
(POIGNANT MUSIC)
There can be a tremendous
amount of shame.
You know, how could
I have been so stupid?
How could I have stayed
in this terrible thing?
There can be a
great deal of grief.
A lot of grief about
the lost years.
I learnt about all this in 2004, so
I left the Ashram in August 2005.
My extended family members
were disciples of Asaram
and they all condemned
me at that time.
To them the truth was
an insult of the Guru.
But I refused to leave the
truth, and I left my home instead.
(CROWD CLAPPING)
There are certain forces at play
which are trying
to malign the saints
and the deities of
our Indian culture.
The more you devote yourself
to serve the purpose of a
united India and its culture,
the more God will bless you
with a greater sense
of peace in your life.
He said it in his sermon as well
that even if I have to
sacrifice myself 10 times, I will,
but I will not let someone
malign my country's culture.
When Asaram Bapu said this,
a lot of organisations joined him.
Many politicians joined Bapu.
Governments don't run religion,
religion runs governments.
In the 2000s, the only way
politicians could get on
television was if they were invited
or if they were holding
a big rally or an event.
Godmen had an edge over them.
(RIVETING MUSIC)
An aura was built around
him that he is a great saint.
Asaram was a big vote
bank for all the politicians.
Having a political
figure next to you
it's not just for the
Godman's benefit,
but the Godman
is actually validating
this politician as a just ruler.
There is a Chief Minister,
a renowned Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
He told his party members
that if Asaram Bapu
pats someone on his back,
then no matter which party
they are from, they will win.
(CROWD) All hail
"Bhagwan ji". (THE GOD)
"Narayana Hari."
It's okay if you don't
give me a donation
but you should
definitely cast your vote.
(CROWD CHEERING)
It's primarily a
case of opportunism
to bring people in and
then to control them.
(VOCALIZING)
In 2008, the moment
you entered the Ashram,
you would see a tent.
They informed me
that they have opened a
boarding school for children
and I could enrol my
children in the boarding school.
Asaram Bapu's
principles are followed,
the children would
wake up at 5:00 a.m.
and would sit for lectures
between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Gurukul is the only
place for children
to be taught the right values.
If you send your children
to convent schools,
they will have no faith in
Hindu religion and its scriptures.
You will lose your
money and your children.
(VOCALIZING)
My son was in class four.
The boarding school admitted
children from class five.
So I discussed this at home
that it's a good school
where he will grow up
in the right environment
and learn the right values.
I got my child admitted there
so he could receive
better education.
My brother Praful came
to know about our decision.
He also decided
to admit his son Dipesh
to the boarding school.
Knowing that both the brothers
will be studying together,
we enrolled Dipesh
in the school as well.
As children, we used
to read "The Ramayana,"
"The Mahabharata"
and "The Bhagavad Gita".
My name is Praful Vaghela.
He is my elder brother.
Dipesh was my son.
Abhishek was Shantilal's son.
Dipesh did not get angry easily.
He was just 10 years old but
had a mind of a 22 year old.
Abhishek was short-tempered.
He would get angry easily.
From an early age, he would come
with me to Lord Shankar's temple.
His interests were
similar to mine.
Dipesh and Abhishek went
to the boarding school together
and stayed in the same room.
After 15th June, when
the school commenced,
we paid them a visit
once every week.
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
That day I had gone to the
Ashram to meet Abhishek and Dipesh
Abhishek had told me
that he wanted batteries
for his keyboard player
and Dipesh had asked me
to get roller skates for him.
So I arranged for a call
between him and his father.
Dipesh told me, "Papa,
please come quickly"
and started crying.
I asked him, "Why are you
crying? Is something wrong?
Tell me what the problem is?"
"Papa please come soon," I asked,
"At least tell me what's wrong?"
He said, "No papa, you
just come here quickly."
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
I spoke to him at 2:30 p.m.
I told Shantilal, that we
just met him a few days ago.
If we go frequently,
they will feel homesick.
I'm talking about
when we visited them
a couple of days
before this happened.
Abhishek was with him
and Dipesh was sitting
in my lap as he always did.
So while we were talking,
Abhishek stood up and came to me.
He said, "Uncle, they took
us to the swimming pool
and over there--"
As he was about to tell me
more, Dipesh stopped him.
He wanted to tell us something.
Why he wouldn't say
anything, I didn't know.
Did he see something?
On 3rd July, 2008,
around 9:00 p.m.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
I received a call from
the boarding school.
They said that Dipesh and
Abhishek have gone missing.
I immediately
called up Shantilal.
We just met them
in the afternoon
and in the evening
they went missing.
How is that even possible?
We headed straight
for the school.
(ENGINE STARTS)
We saw a strange scene
when we reached there.
There was pin-drop
silence all around.
Everyone was fast asleep.
All the children, their caretakers,
everyone was in deep sleep.
We tried waking up two kids,
but they just couldn't get up.
As if someone had
given them sleeping pills.
They were in a state
of unconsciousness.
We shook them, but nothing.
There was a garden nearby
where we looked for them,
maybe they were sleeping
outside in the garden.
The caretaker
Pankaj Saxena told us
to take eleven rounds
of the large banyan tree
and pray to Asaram Bapu
that you find your children.
For about two hours, they
made us go around the tree
and we kept going
round and round.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
We couldn't sleep
at all that night.
We kept praying to God and
wondering where our children could be.
We waited in
anticipation all night.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
But even in the morning the
children were nowhere to be found.
There was no news about them.
Pankaj Saxena,
who was the rector,
told us that he will
speak with Asaram Bapu,
in case he has any news
or information about
the two children.
We were told the children
had not returned yet.
Praful said since the
children are still missing,
we should file a
police complaint.
Pankaj Saxena then
interrupted us saying
he has a message
from Asaram Bapu.
Bapu has asked you to pick
up four stones from the road
and boil them in water.
That was his remedy
for our situation.
Asaram Bapu made them do
some superstitious practises.
(WATER BOILING)
This is how they
wasted crucial time.
They took no action.
(WATER BOILING)
It doesn't help if there's two
sets of parents plus other relatives,
who are looking for two
boys who've just gone missing.
Then my brother insisted
on filing a police report.
At least file a
report with the police
that the children are missing.
Neither did they file a complaint,
nor did they let us file one.
(TENSE SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
They took us to two police
stations, Chandkheda and Adalaj.
We spoke to the inspector there
and narrated the entire incident.
So much time has passed
and no action has been taken,
and the children still
haven't been found.
They did not lodge
a police report.
They just noted it as a
missing persons report.
An officer at Chandkheda
Police Station told us,
that don't expect your
children to be found.
He told us how numerous children
have gone missing
like this in the past.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CLOCK TICKING)
What occurred had happened
under Asaram's watch.
The children were
their responsibility.
The Ashram is
surrounded by tight security,
so how could the
children step outside?
I pressurised the Ashram authorities
for a meeting with Asaram Bapu.
They told us that they
were unable to contact Bapu.
They gave us this excuse.
We spent the whole night
waiting at the Ashram.
We stayed hungry and thirsty,
for the sole hope of
finding our children.
On the third day, 5th
July, around 7:00 p.m.
The rector Pankaj Saxena,
called the Vaghelas again
and asked them to come
to the Ashram immediately.
One man had apparently
reported to the police
that he had seen the dead bodies
of two children behind the Ashram.
I went, "What?"
When the police
showed us the bodies,
I immediately identified
one of them as Dipesh.
Another body was
lying 10 feet ahead.
They asked me whose body this
was and I said it was Abhishek's body.
I literally died inside.
The condition of the body was such
that no parent could bear to see it.
The entire face was
swollen and covered in mud.
The torso was completely hollow.
One of the legs was missing.
The body was half-burnt.
Dipesh's t-shirt was
lying besides his body
and Abhishek had his clothes on.
He was wearing the
shorts and yellow t-shirt
provided by the boarding school.
Dipesh had no t-shirt on him.
-He was only wearing shorts.
-He was only wearing shorts.
So, the question arises:
"How did the children die?"
(SINISTER MUSIC)
That's the horrific condition
I saw my son's body in.
Why? What am I supposed to do?
Who did we put our faith in?
How could they do
this to our children?
These people whom we
considered our Guru, our God
they only killed our children.
We couldn't bear it
when we saw our
children in that condition.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
There came a time
when I was in two minds
whether I should take
these bodies home or not?
Because as per Hindu customs,
we keep the face of
the deceased visible
so that everyone can pay
their respects for one last time.
Despite what happened,
I mustered the courage
and brought their bodies home.
But we couldn't
reveal their faces.
The entire body
was just wrapped.
Post-mortem could still be
conducted on Abhishek's body
but Dipesh's body had nothing.
How could one perform
post-mortem on his body?
(SINISTER MUSIC)
On 5th July, when someone informed
that they had found the dead bodies,
that's when the police
came into action.
The time that was lost
in those two days resulted
in both the bodies being found
in a totally decomposed condition.
Everyone knew
that the government
is not going to take any
action against Asaram
because he had all
the political support.
What it does is, it also
really affects the morale
of policemen, of bureaucrats,
of government officials
who want to do their job
and perhaps investigate or
take on these spiritual leaders.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
I am not under any obligation
to respond to
baseless allegations.
Accuse me of whatever
you want, I don't care.
When Asaram Bapu
hasn't done any wrong,
then why should
he be disrespected?
I requested Bapu
to avoid direct communication
with these channels,
because there is a difference
between the people there
and a person of his stature.
So he should appoint someone
who is at least 16-17
levels junior than him
and give them the authority
to represent the Ashram.
Even if they commit a mistake
then Bapu would handle it.
Since July 2008,
I've been Bapu's
national spokesperson.
I represented the Ashram
in media conferences,
and would respond
on the Ashram's behalf.
And believe me, I've not
had to do anything myself.
Bapu made me do everything.
I repeat that this is
all part of a conspiracy.
This conspiracy will be exposed,
and the truth will come out.
There were two children who
were murdered in the Ashram.
And we're expected
to do nothing about it?
A crime has been committed
and the truth will be exposed.
Even in "The
Mahabharata" you will see,
whatever evil act was perpetrated,
justice was finally served.
It was the same in
"The Ramayana".
Everyone gets justice,
even if it takes a long time.
But the truth always wins.
Come what may,
an honest person
will never back down.
(PURPOSEFUL MUSIC)
If someone's 8-year-old
child is ruthlessly murdered,
it will definitely
break any parent.
But I was neutral
because after this incident I wanted
to forget about the Asaram Ashram.
But Asaram's people didn't
let me forget about him.
They involved me
again in this matter.
(NARAYAN SAI)
"What I want to say is
the 'tantra mantra' that I've
written, what about those?
What do you want
to do about it?"
(NARAYAN SAI'S
ASSOCIATE) "Aye Mahender.
I'm seriously telling you,
your corpse will leave
from your house tomorrow."
"I am seriously warning you
your corpse will leave
from your house tomorrow."
Isn't this a threat?
What will you do?
This is Narayan Sai's bodyguard.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
You may call it God's
will or self-confidence,
a thought occurred in my mind
that this person must be exposed.
When the right moment
came, I came forward.
I am repeating this since 2008,
if any investigative agency of
the Government of India intervenes,
I will give the names of those
people involved in the killing
and the investigation
will expose the truth.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
Think about why "The
Mahabharata" happened,
only then will you
understand the story.
Why did it happen?
That's the case
in this story too.
How did the children go missing?
And why did this happen to them?
Only we know the game
that fate has played with us.
He is my elder brother.
Dipesh was my son.
Abhishek was Shantilal's son.
(SOFT MUSIC)
The Asaram Ashram ran a
Gurukul (BOARDING SCHOOL),
so we enrolled Abhishek
and Dipesh there.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
On 3rd July, I received a
call from the boarding school.
They informed us that
Abhishek and Dipesh are missing.
I went, "What?"
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
The Ashram people made
us go around in circles
and we continued
being deceived for hours.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
An officer at Chandkheda
Police Station told us
that numerous children have
gone missing like this in the past.
Your children might
not be found as well.
Why?
What do I do?
Asaram was considered
as one of the leading
spiritual preachers of Gujarat.
Asaram Bapu addressed the
crowd for hours with his eyes closed.
And whoever he saw
once he opened his eyes,
they would become blissful.
Hari Om! Hari Om! Hari Om!
If he said, "Jump off a
cliff," the disciple would do it.
Because a disciple's
good fortune
lies in following the
Guru's commands.
It is very doubtful.
If justice will ever be
served in a case like this.
That's when lots of
details about this Godman
started coming out.
There were stories of assaults,
there were stories of land grabs.
How he ran his financial empire.
I dedicated everything I had
to him, even the way I thought.
I did not even have
the freedom to think.
He is no God, he is the Devil.
(UNSETTLING MUSIC)
People don't go into cults
thinking this is a terrible place to be,
they go in thinking this is
the best thing for my family.
I am not under any obligation to
respond to baseless allegations.
Accuse me of whatever
you want, I don't care.
When Bapu has done nothing wrong,
then why should he be disrespected?
-Om! Om! Om!
-(CROWD SHOUTING)
Om! Om! Om!
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
In a cult you don't
see from the front stage
what's really going on in the back
by this psychopathic cult leader.
Does our country have a
different law for Asaram?
(CROWD CLAMOURING)
Please answer my question.
Asaram Bapu has
the mass support
But the truth always wins.
Come what may,
an honest person
will never back down.
(THEME SONG)
(MUSIC FADES)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
I come from a
middle-class family.
My mother has always been
very religious and spiritual.
We were taught to pray
as soon as we woke
up in the morning.
I passed with
distinction till class 10th.
After 10th class, I was a
medical science student.
I was living a good life.
But after class 12th,
I came in contact with Asaram Bapu
and got influenced by his teachings.
I used to believe
that Asaram is God.
After that I was
dedicated to finding God.
Till the time I got married, I
used to hate spiritual leaders.
I was a crime reporter
and a very arrogant one.
My mother-in-law believed
that when I have a child,
it would also
inherit these traits.
And that would
make our lives harder.
She was always
worried about this.
One day while watching
television, she came across Asaram
and she wanted to
introduce me to this saint.
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
I was anyway used to
meeting senior politicians,
so meeting Asaram
was no big deal.
So I told her, "Okay,
let's meet him."
There was a message
running on the TV ticker below
that Saint Asaram
Bapu is in Panipat.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
In 1995, 1996, he had organised
a programme in Panipat, Haryana.
A lot of people were
attending, even I attended.
That day Asaram Bapu said
he will initiate us the next day
and asked us to bring
an initiation kit along.
I didn't know what an initiation
prayer was and why it's done.
Initiation means
a person's commitment to
sacrifice what is necessary
to overcome suffering,
misfortune, sin and adversity.
I was a devotee of Lord Ganesha
but Asaram Bapu did not
recite any prayer related to him.
Outside I heard a crow cawing.
So I decided, the prayer on
which the crow caws three times,
I will raise my
hand for that prayer.
Now, as soon as Asaram
Bapu recited the first prayer,
the crow cawed
thrice, "Caw, caw, caw."
So then I raised my hand.
I had common pregnancy
issues like nausea and dizziness.
From the moment I
began chanting the prayer,
all of these issues stopped.
As my faith in Asaram
Bapu deepened,
I could feel distinct
changes in my life.
I felt that the changes
I was feeling within me,
was because of the power
of chanting the prayers.
For hours Asaram Bapu would
be immersed in a divine trance
and continued to be
in that state of trance,
and when he would
suddenly open his eyes,
those in front of him
would become blissful.
We all made attempts
that when Asaram Bapu
opened his eyes from his trance,
his gaze settles on us.
We always had this desire.
When he would sing devotional
songs and dance on the stage,
we believed that he is
completely immersed in spirituality
and devotion to God.
He is dancing to the
rhythm of his devotion,
he must be a great saint.
The day I was
initiated, I had decided
that I will serve the Guru,
attain salvation, and
lead a successful life.
So I devoted myself
to Asaram's Ashram.
Like jaggery, if your heart
is sweet and full of warmth,
and you make spiritual
awakening your life's purpose,
then every deed of yours
becomes an act of devotion.
A dedicated disciple is someone
who has renounced
all worldly ties
and has decided to spend
the rest of his life in the Ashram.
My family was against my
decision to go live in the Ashram,
but I refused to listen to them
and was determined to
join the Asaram Ashram.
Just as the waves and
the ocean are one in nature,
similarly you cannot distinguish
between Guru from God.
It's difficult to
corroborate exactly
how much of Asaram's
known early life is true.
Roughly what I have heard is that
his full name is Asumal Harpalani.
You know, he is
of Sindhi origin.
His parents moved here at
some point into post-partition India.
When Asaram Bapu was
born, everyone said that
one day he will
become a great saint.
He will enlighten
the whole world.
Wherever his Guru
held religious gatherings,
Asaram served him as a servant.
He arrived in the Motera region
of Ahmedabad in the 1980s.
This region is on the
outskirts of Ahmedabad,
near the Sabarmati River.
At the time, his age
was around 24 years.
When Asaram Bapu started
addressing crowds and giving sermons,
word spread about him gradually
and people came to
know of him as a saint.
Soon after, influential people
also started following him.
He operated as a bootlegger
running his business near the
banks of the Sabarmati River.
In a span of just
10 to 15 years,
he transformed from
Asumal to Asaram.
(CROWD CLAMOURING)
Wherever Bapu sets
his feet in some place,
he can immediately tell
the history of that place.
Then he built an
Ashram in Ahmedabad.
It's a beautiful Ashram.
If you go to Asaram's Ashram,
you will find steps
behind the Ashram
which lead
straight to the river.
In this way, he even encroached
on the Sabarmati River.
It was believed
that any land Asaram
touched would become his.
(RIVETING MUSIC)
He also encroached
on the neighbouring land.
At the time, the
government didn't intervene.
If any legal proceedings were
undertaken, people would argue
that their saints
were being harassed.
During that time,
he distributed free groceries
among the labourers.
He also addressed their
psychosomatic problems
and healed them somehow.
When Asaram Bapu
visited tribal areas,
he would speak against people
trying to convert their religion.
He would preach
about Lord Krishna's teachings
in "The Bhagavad Gita."
When you feel that your
religion is under threat
and if someone is
protecting your religion,
then you should respect him.
Bapu made 70,000 people
revert to Hinduism within a month.
This is no small feat.
As a result, the number
of his followers grew.
After Ahmedabad, he
built an Ashram in Surat.
He also built Ashrams in
Himmatnagar, Pindval and Kutch.
As Asaram Bapu's popularity
grew, his followers also increased.
Asaram's popularity
here was so prominent
that if you get off at
Kalupur railway station
and ask an autorickshaw driver
to take you to Bapu's Ashram,
he would take you
to Asaram's Ashram
instead of Mahatma Gandhi's.
I am a construction
labour contractor.
My family is quite religious.
Since childhood I had an
inclination to learn about God.
So I was looking for
ways to get closer to God.
How to identify God?
One of my friends
asked me if I have a Guru.
I told him, "No, I
don't have a Guru."
My friend advised me
that to achieve the qualities
I want, I'll need a Guru.
So I asked him "who
can be that Guru?"
He said there's a saint
called Asaram nearby.
So I decided to make
Asaram Bapu my Guru.
My entire family including my
son Abhishek, my two daughters
and my wife, all of us went
to the Ashram to get initiated.
(WOMAN SOBBING)
I stayed there for 10-12 days.
We prayed at the spot
where Bapu meditated
and we spent the entire
day there in his service.
I only had one goal
and that was to attain
the same knowledge of
this universe like Bapu.
(TENSE MUSIC)
I have never had any education
in what a cult looked like.
And I got involved
with a political cult.
And when I got out I had
this question, you know,
"How could this happen to me?"
Because people think
that these things are good.
People don't go into cults
thinking this is a terrible place to be.
They go in thinking, this is
the best thing for my family.
And it's not until you have been
fully immersed into the group
that you begin to hear
what the cult is really about.
Life inside the
Ashram is very tough.
We weren't praying to God, we
were only worshipping Asaram.
Every morning at 5:15 a.m.
everyone had to be
present at the chanting hall.
If you failed to attend, you
would not be given one meal.
So in a way, one was
forced to be present.
I don't know of any cult
that lets people sleep long.
You may even have
nutritional deficits
because there may be
various specific dietary controls.
And then you have
to serve endlessly.
He demanded laborious work
from the newly enrolled disciples.
(MACHINE WHIRRING)
You can't let your
followers have free time
or they may go and do something
else or have time to think.
(CROWD PRAYING)
Reading newspapers
and watching television
was completely
restricted in the Ashram.
Newspapers were
considered garbage
and we were instructed
not to read them.
We were told to read books
published by the Ashram.
When you read books like, "Guru
Gita" and "Guru Bhakti Yoga,"
they explain it all.
You are getting messages about
the outside world
being a negative energy
or, you know, words like that.
And then there's
gonna be this shift.
"You know you really
should be more disciplined
if you care about your
development or your spiritual path."
We were told to
protect ourselves
from the vibrations
emitted by women.
So we did exactly that.
There should be no
physical relationships
and not even
social relationships.
Even conversations with
women were discouraged.
The men would
go to such extremes
that they even refused to
eat the food served by women.
If a meal is cooked
in the Ashram
and if a woman happens
to look at that food,
even then we would
not eat that food.
This was our mindset.
It was taught to
us in the Ashram
"Guru agya hi kevalam,
shishasya param mangalam."
It means the Guru's order is
the holy duty of the disciple.
If the Guru tells the
disciple to consume poison,
then they will do
as they are told
because it's their duty to
obey the Guru's command.
If the Guru says "jump off a
cliff," the disciple would do it.
Because a Guru's command
is of utmost importance
to the disciple.
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
You are kind of living
on a different planet.
And that's really the essence
of a process of brainwashing.
Life in the Ashram
is that of sacrifice
and not that of indulgence.
If you want to live
an indulgent life,
then you have to leave
this life of renunciation.
They want more from people.
They want more money from people.
They want more time from people.
They want more adoration.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
You will also be
able to understand
Asaram's meteoric
rise in terms of following,
if you understand
India's economic situation.
From the '90s till now,
India's economic
divide is only increasing.
People want answers to life
because they believe that, you know,
maybe a divine power will help me
to get where I want to get.
So cable TV starts some
time in the early '90s,
but catches on really
in the mid to late '90s.
And I think one of the peak
moments of cable television,
one is the "K-series"
and the other is "Kaun
Banega Crorepati".
At the same time that's
when another channel
suddenly pops up on the
horizon called Aastha channel.
Asaram also came in and
he started giving his sermons.
You must have heard
this for the first time.
"Bh" "Ga" "Wa" "N" (GOD)
Asaram Bapu realised
that there's a way of
getting beamed directly
into people's homes.
The internet wasn't around,
social media wasn't around.
Television was where people learned
about products, services, religion,
programming,
entertainment, all of it.
There's definitely a transition
in the way he is playing to
a certain kind of audience.
Aastha channel was
supposed to be religion
but here is them
talking about everything.
And people like it. It
actually draws in more people.
To those who are taking
liberties with Indian culture,
I request them with bowed
hands to change their ways else
Om!
-Om! Om! Om!
-(CROWD CHANTING OM)
What you see is this pretty
attractive performance.
It's very useful
to cult leaders.
You know, it's
just another way in.
So you don't see
from the front stage
what's really going
on in the back,
which is, that this is run by
this psychopathic cult leader.
"Who is Asaram Bapu to you?"
"Bapu is my father."
Aye-haye!
Could you say a
few words in English?
You've come from Europe.
And you feel Bapu
is a very hot man
and so and so, as
you like, you can speak.
Okay?
Okay.
Bapu, I love you.
Aye.
Oh! Bapu's hit a home run!
So Asaram, he realised
after a point of time
that "how can I monetise this?"
It started with soap,
incense sticks, candles
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
If God is selling me
something, I am going to buy it.
That's when he also starts
to make a lot of money.
It's believed that his worth
would be in tens of
thousands of crores.
Asaram Bapu's enlightenment
and knowledge of the universe
is not limited to
just this universe.
It spans across all universes.
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)
These shocking clips
are from Saint Asaram's
helicopter crash.
Without the power of
the prayers within me,
this accident could
have turned fatal.
Whatever happened
with the helicopter,
it broke into three
parts, I fell from the sky
and yet I have
come out unharmed.
All hail!
He is omnipotent.
Please don't mistake him
to be an ordinary person.
There is so much more
to him than meets the eye.
Asaram was
building up his empire.
(INDISTINCT OVERLAPPING VOICES)
His son also appears.
I mean it's sort of spirituality
which is being passed
down through DNA,
programmed into
both father and son.
Very often a doctor is
born in a doctor's family,
an actor is born
in an actor's family,
so undoubtedly a saint will
be born into a saint's family.
When the respect for Asaram
Bapu reached new heights,
many people
started following him.
People would think
because he is Bapu's son
they can get his blessings
if Bapu is out of reach.
Later he also started
serving people like Bapu.
He also conducted
religious gatherings.
In this way, he also
gained followers.
Is there anyone who dares to
compare himself to Narayan?
He's worshipped globally.
Have you heard his sermons?
The managers of the Ashram
are in direct contact with
Asaram Bapu and Narayan Sai,
as they have to report to
them on a regular basis.
Since I had to report to them,
I also came under their radar.
Narayan Sai made me
his personal assistant.
We had faith in him because
he was the son of our Guru.
The Guru's son is also
respected and worshipped.
Whenever Narayan Sai wanted
to conduct his programmes,
I would make all
the arrangements.
Narayan Sai would tell
me that he is a celibate
and if there ever was a
Narayan Sai sperm bank,
then the society will have
superior children like him.
Asaram's son believes
that, you know, he has this
mesmerising effect on women.
He believes of course
that he is Lord Krishna
and, you know, his
eyes are hypnotic.
And this animal charm about him.
Narayan Sai's driver seemed
upset since a few days.
Since we were nearly the
same age, I asked him one day,
"Why have you been so upset
lately? What's bothering you?"
(CAR APPROACHING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
He started crying and told me,
"Narayan orders me to take
the car in the middle of the night
and bring him a girl."
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
"I would bring a girl for him
around 1:30 a.m. in the night.
And at around 3:00 a.m.
he would again tell me
to hide that girl in the boot
of the car and drop her off.
I don't know what's going on."
I told him, "It's nothing,
you've gone mad.
This must be some
divine act of the Guru.
Just leave it."
He said, "No, the
girls don't just visit him,
there is some sort of sexual
activity going on as well."
I asked him to show me.
The first time I saw it, I
couldn't believe my eyes.
Why? Because
(POIGNANT MUSIC)
because
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
May I have some water, please?
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
I couldn't believe my eyes
because I had blind
faith in my Guru.
And when I saw my Guru
with a woman in a
compromising situation,
I could not believe my eyes.
I could've never imagined
that something this
disgusting can happen.
I realised that this
man is no saint or God.
He is a characterless
and hedonistic person.
I felt in a way my
life was finished.
I left everything and came here.
I dedicated everything
I had to them,
including my thoughts.
I wasn't even free to
have a mind of my own.
And he was no God,
he was the Devil.
(POIGNANT MUSIC)
There can be a tremendous
amount of shame.
You know, how could
I have been so stupid?
How could I have stayed
in this terrible thing?
There can be a
great deal of grief.
A lot of grief about
the lost years.
I learnt about all this in 2004, so
I left the Ashram in August 2005.
My extended family members
were disciples of Asaram
and they all condemned
me at that time.
To them the truth was
an insult of the Guru.
But I refused to leave the
truth, and I left my home instead.
(CROWD CLAPPING)
There are certain forces at play
which are trying
to malign the saints
and the deities of
our Indian culture.
The more you devote yourself
to serve the purpose of a
united India and its culture,
the more God will bless you
with a greater sense
of peace in your life.
He said it in his sermon as well
that even if I have to
sacrifice myself 10 times, I will,
but I will not let someone
malign my country's culture.
When Asaram Bapu said this,
a lot of organisations joined him.
Many politicians joined Bapu.
Governments don't run religion,
religion runs governments.
In the 2000s, the only way
politicians could get on
television was if they were invited
or if they were holding
a big rally or an event.
Godmen had an edge over them.
(RIVETING MUSIC)
An aura was built around
him that he is a great saint.
Asaram was a big vote
bank for all the politicians.
Having a political
figure next to you
it's not just for the
Godman's benefit,
but the Godman
is actually validating
this politician as a just ruler.
There is a Chief Minister,
a renowned Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
He told his party members
that if Asaram Bapu
pats someone on his back,
then no matter which party
they are from, they will win.
(CROWD) All hail
"Bhagwan ji". (THE GOD)
"Narayana Hari."
It's okay if you don't
give me a donation
but you should
definitely cast your vote.
(CROWD CHEERING)
It's primarily a
case of opportunism
to bring people in and
then to control them.
(VOCALIZING)
In 2008, the moment
you entered the Ashram,
you would see a tent.
They informed me
that they have opened a
boarding school for children
and I could enrol my
children in the boarding school.
Asaram Bapu's
principles are followed,
the children would
wake up at 5:00 a.m.
and would sit for lectures
between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Gurukul is the only
place for children
to be taught the right values.
If you send your children
to convent schools,
they will have no faith in
Hindu religion and its scriptures.
You will lose your
money and your children.
(VOCALIZING)
My son was in class four.
The boarding school admitted
children from class five.
So I discussed this at home
that it's a good school
where he will grow up
in the right environment
and learn the right values.
I got my child admitted there
so he could receive
better education.
My brother Praful came
to know about our decision.
He also decided
to admit his son Dipesh
to the boarding school.
Knowing that both the brothers
will be studying together,
we enrolled Dipesh
in the school as well.
As children, we used
to read "The Ramayana,"
"The Mahabharata"
and "The Bhagavad Gita".
My name is Praful Vaghela.
He is my elder brother.
Dipesh was my son.
Abhishek was Shantilal's son.
Dipesh did not get angry easily.
He was just 10 years old but
had a mind of a 22 year old.
Abhishek was short-tempered.
He would get angry easily.
From an early age, he would come
with me to Lord Shankar's temple.
His interests were
similar to mine.
Dipesh and Abhishek went
to the boarding school together
and stayed in the same room.
After 15th June, when
the school commenced,
we paid them a visit
once every week.
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
That day I had gone to the
Ashram to meet Abhishek and Dipesh
Abhishek had told me
that he wanted batteries
for his keyboard player
and Dipesh had asked me
to get roller skates for him.
So I arranged for a call
between him and his father.
Dipesh told me, "Papa,
please come quickly"
and started crying.
I asked him, "Why are you
crying? Is something wrong?
Tell me what the problem is?"
"Papa please come soon," I asked,
"At least tell me what's wrong?"
He said, "No papa, you
just come here quickly."
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
I spoke to him at 2:30 p.m.
I told Shantilal, that we
just met him a few days ago.
If we go frequently,
they will feel homesick.
I'm talking about
when we visited them
a couple of days
before this happened.
Abhishek was with him
and Dipesh was sitting
in my lap as he always did.
So while we were talking,
Abhishek stood up and came to me.
He said, "Uncle, they took
us to the swimming pool
and over there--"
As he was about to tell me
more, Dipesh stopped him.
He wanted to tell us something.
Why he wouldn't say
anything, I didn't know.
Did he see something?
On 3rd July, 2008,
around 9:00 p.m.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
I received a call from
the boarding school.
They said that Dipesh and
Abhishek have gone missing.
I immediately
called up Shantilal.
We just met them
in the afternoon
and in the evening
they went missing.
How is that even possible?
We headed straight
for the school.
(ENGINE STARTS)
We saw a strange scene
when we reached there.
There was pin-drop
silence all around.
Everyone was fast asleep.
All the children, their caretakers,
everyone was in deep sleep.
We tried waking up two kids,
but they just couldn't get up.
As if someone had
given them sleeping pills.
They were in a state
of unconsciousness.
We shook them, but nothing.
There was a garden nearby
where we looked for them,
maybe they were sleeping
outside in the garden.
The caretaker
Pankaj Saxena told us
to take eleven rounds
of the large banyan tree
and pray to Asaram Bapu
that you find your children.
For about two hours, they
made us go around the tree
and we kept going
round and round.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
We couldn't sleep
at all that night.
We kept praying to God and
wondering where our children could be.
We waited in
anticipation all night.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
But even in the morning the
children were nowhere to be found.
There was no news about them.
Pankaj Saxena,
who was the rector,
told us that he will
speak with Asaram Bapu,
in case he has any news
or information about
the two children.
We were told the children
had not returned yet.
Praful said since the
children are still missing,
we should file a
police complaint.
Pankaj Saxena then
interrupted us saying
he has a message
from Asaram Bapu.
Bapu has asked you to pick
up four stones from the road
and boil them in water.
That was his remedy
for our situation.
Asaram Bapu made them do
some superstitious practises.
(WATER BOILING)
This is how they
wasted crucial time.
They took no action.
(WATER BOILING)
It doesn't help if there's two
sets of parents plus other relatives,
who are looking for two
boys who've just gone missing.
Then my brother insisted
on filing a police report.
At least file a
report with the police
that the children are missing.
Neither did they file a complaint,
nor did they let us file one.
(TENSE SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
They took us to two police
stations, Chandkheda and Adalaj.
We spoke to the inspector there
and narrated the entire incident.
So much time has passed
and no action has been taken,
and the children still
haven't been found.
They did not lodge
a police report.
They just noted it as a
missing persons report.
An officer at Chandkheda
Police Station told us,
that don't expect your
children to be found.
He told us how numerous children
have gone missing
like this in the past.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CLOCK TICKING)
What occurred had happened
under Asaram's watch.
The children were
their responsibility.
The Ashram is
surrounded by tight security,
so how could the
children step outside?
I pressurised the Ashram authorities
for a meeting with Asaram Bapu.
They told us that they
were unable to contact Bapu.
They gave us this excuse.
We spent the whole night
waiting at the Ashram.
We stayed hungry and thirsty,
for the sole hope of
finding our children.
On the third day, 5th
July, around 7:00 p.m.
The rector Pankaj Saxena,
called the Vaghelas again
and asked them to come
to the Ashram immediately.
One man had apparently
reported to the police
that he had seen the dead bodies
of two children behind the Ashram.
I went, "What?"
When the police
showed us the bodies,
I immediately identified
one of them as Dipesh.
Another body was
lying 10 feet ahead.
They asked me whose body this
was and I said it was Abhishek's body.
I literally died inside.
The condition of the body was such
that no parent could bear to see it.
The entire face was
swollen and covered in mud.
The torso was completely hollow.
One of the legs was missing.
The body was half-burnt.
Dipesh's t-shirt was
lying besides his body
and Abhishek had his clothes on.
He was wearing the
shorts and yellow t-shirt
provided by the boarding school.
Dipesh had no t-shirt on him.
-He was only wearing shorts.
-He was only wearing shorts.
So, the question arises:
"How did the children die?"
(SINISTER MUSIC)
That's the horrific condition
I saw my son's body in.
Why? What am I supposed to do?
Who did we put our faith in?
How could they do
this to our children?
These people whom we
considered our Guru, our God
they only killed our children.
We couldn't bear it
when we saw our
children in that condition.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
There came a time
when I was in two minds
whether I should take
these bodies home or not?
Because as per Hindu customs,
we keep the face of
the deceased visible
so that everyone can pay
their respects for one last time.
Despite what happened,
I mustered the courage
and brought their bodies home.
But we couldn't
reveal their faces.
The entire body
was just wrapped.
Post-mortem could still be
conducted on Abhishek's body
but Dipesh's body had nothing.
How could one perform
post-mortem on his body?
(SINISTER MUSIC)
On 5th July, when someone informed
that they had found the dead bodies,
that's when the police
came into action.
The time that was lost
in those two days resulted
in both the bodies being found
in a totally decomposed condition.
Everyone knew
that the government
is not going to take any
action against Asaram
because he had all
the political support.
What it does is, it also
really affects the morale
of policemen, of bureaucrats,
of government officials
who want to do their job
and perhaps investigate or
take on these spiritual leaders.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
I am not under any obligation
to respond to
baseless allegations.
Accuse me of whatever
you want, I don't care.
When Asaram Bapu
hasn't done any wrong,
then why should
he be disrespected?
I requested Bapu
to avoid direct communication
with these channels,
because there is a difference
between the people there
and a person of his stature.
So he should appoint someone
who is at least 16-17
levels junior than him
and give them the authority
to represent the Ashram.
Even if they commit a mistake
then Bapu would handle it.
Since July 2008,
I've been Bapu's
national spokesperson.
I represented the Ashram
in media conferences,
and would respond
on the Ashram's behalf.
And believe me, I've not
had to do anything myself.
Bapu made me do everything.
I repeat that this is
all part of a conspiracy.
This conspiracy will be exposed,
and the truth will come out.
There were two children who
were murdered in the Ashram.
And we're expected
to do nothing about it?
A crime has been committed
and the truth will be exposed.
Even in "The
Mahabharata" you will see,
whatever evil act was perpetrated,
justice was finally served.
It was the same in
"The Ramayana".
Everyone gets justice,
even if it takes a long time.
But the truth always wins.
Come what may,
an honest person
will never back down.
(PURPOSEFUL MUSIC)
If someone's 8-year-old
child is ruthlessly murdered,
it will definitely
break any parent.
But I was neutral
because after this incident I wanted
to forget about the Asaram Ashram.
But Asaram's people didn't
let me forget about him.
They involved me
again in this matter.
(NARAYAN SAI)
"What I want to say is
the 'tantra mantra' that I've
written, what about those?
What do you want
to do about it?"
(NARAYAN SAI'S
ASSOCIATE) "Aye Mahender.
I'm seriously telling you,
your corpse will leave
from your house tomorrow."
"I am seriously warning you
your corpse will leave
from your house tomorrow."
Isn't this a threat?
What will you do?
This is Narayan Sai's bodyguard.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
You may call it God's
will or self-confidence,
a thought occurred in my mind
that this person must be exposed.
When the right moment
came, I came forward.
I am repeating this since 2008,
if any investigative agency of
the Government of India intervenes,
I will give the names of those
people involved in the killing
and the investigation
will expose the truth.