Panel orders inspection of ashram in kids’ death case

Justice DK Trivedi Commission, constituted to probe the mysterious deaths of two children of Asaram ashram, on Monday directed lawyers SH Iyer, Shamshad Pathan and Mukul Sinha to carry out an inspection of the ashram. The dead bodies of Dipesh and Abhishek were found on the Sabarmati riverbed. The commission has also directed that the inspection be done in the presence of fathers of the victims; Kanjivan Parmar, the man who filed a PIL seeking a thorough investigation into the matter, and lawyer Mitesh Amin representing the state government.

The date of inspection will be fixed by the commission on May 14. The commission also issued summons to Pankajbhai, a sadhak and the administrator of the ashram, Ketanbhai who is in-charge of overall administrator, Vikasbhai, one of the key administrators, and Uday Sanghani, the PRO of the ashram, so that details of how the children may have got out of the ashram and when it happened can be enquired into.

The commission has also directed that statements of all those people, including children, who had taken dinner along with the deceased on the fateful night be taken.

The direction came in the wake of an application filed by defence lawyer in the case on Monday praying that the aforesaid factors be taken into consideration for investigation into the deaths of the children.