Close X
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
ADVT 
International

Yoga Ashram Master 'Beat And Groomed Young Girls For Sex' In Australia

Darpan News Desk Darpan, 02 Dec, 2014 02:13 PM
    The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia held a public hearing Tuesday to inquire into the Satyananda Yoga Ashram sex abuse cases.
     
    Many such cases were reported from the Satyananda Yoga Ashram located on Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales in the 1970s and 1980s, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
     
    The opening day of the probe into the cases and its former leader Swami Akhandananda Saraswati, heard 11 victims who were abused while living in the ashram in the 1970s and 1980s.
     
    Counsel Peggy Dwyer told the commission that sexual activity was discouraged in the ashram but despite this, its founder Satyananda Saraswati and his disciple Akhandananda molested teenaged girls.
     
    The commission heard that Akhandananda began a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl Shishy after he moved to Australia from India in 1974.
     
    Akhandananda told his victims that "engaging in sexual activity with him was for their own spiritual growth."
     
    Parents were separated from their children when they were sent to set up other ashrams around the country.
     
    Ms Dwyer said evidence from 11 former residents will show a pattern of "sexual grooming by Akhandananda, which began when the children reached or were approaching puberty".
    The grooming was followed by sexual abuse, including oral sex and sexual intercourse, by the time they reached the age of 14 or 15.
     
    Over 25 witnesses are expected to give evidence over a two-week period.
     
    Satyananda Yoga Ashram, which changed its name to Mangrove Yoga Ashram in 2012, and Swami Akhandananda Saraswati were later charged with over 35 sex offences against four teenaged girls.
     
    Akhandananda was found guilty on lesser charges of indecency and was jailed in 1989 but his conviction was overturned six years before his death in 1997.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Tens Of Thousands Of Protesters Break Through Barriers Protecting Pakistan's Parliament

    Tens Of Thousands Of Protesters Break Through Barriers Protecting Pakistan's Parliament
    ISLAMABAD - Tens of thousands of protesters armed with wire cutters and backed by cranes broke through barriers protecting Pakistan's parliament and other government buildings Tuesday night, demanding the country's prime minister resign.

    Tens Of Thousands Of Protesters Break Through Barriers Protecting Pakistan's Parliament

    Car Crash In Argentina Kills 3 Relatives Of Pope Francis, Leaves Nephew Hospitalized

    Car Crash In Argentina Kills 3 Relatives Of Pope Francis, Leaves Nephew Hospitalized
    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Three relatives of Pope Francis died and a fourth was in serious condition Tuesday after their car crashed on a provincial highway in Argentina, the Vatican and local officials said.

    Car Crash In Argentina Kills 3 Relatives Of Pope Francis, Leaves Nephew Hospitalized

    St. Louis Police: Officers Shoot, Kill Knife-Wielding Suspect; Large Crowd Gathers At Site

    St. Louis Police: Officers Shoot, Kill Knife-Wielding Suspect; Large Crowd Gathers At Site
    ST. LOUIS - A large crowd has gathered at the site where St. Louis police officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man after a reported convenience store robbery.

    St. Louis Police: Officers Shoot, Kill Knife-Wielding Suspect; Large Crowd Gathers At Site

    Ferguson Leaders Pledge Outreach, Urge Protesters To Stay Home To 'Allow Peace To Settle In'

    Ferguson Leaders Pledge Outreach, Urge Protesters To Stay Home To 'Allow Peace To Settle In'
    Ferguson's leaders urged residents Tuesday to stay home after dark to "allow peace to settle in" and pledged to reconnect with the predominantly black community in the St. Louis suburb where the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer has sparked nightly clashes between protesters and law enforcement.

    Ferguson Leaders Pledge Outreach, Urge Protesters To Stay Home To 'Allow Peace To Settle In'

    Timeline of events following fatal shooting of Michael Brown in St. Louis suburb of Ferguson

    Timeline of events following fatal shooting of Michael Brown in St. Louis suburb of Ferguson
    FERGUSON, Mo. - A timeline of key events following the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri...

    Timeline of events following fatal shooting of Michael Brown in St. Louis suburb of Ferguson

    US terms cancellation of India-Pakistan talks 'unfortunate'

    US terms cancellation of India-Pakistan talks 'unfortunate'
    As India called off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan over its envoy's meeting with Kashmiri separatists, the US termed the cancellation "unfortunate"...

    US terms cancellation of India-Pakistan talks 'unfortunate'