Himachal seals part of Asaram's ashram campus

In a swift action against controversial spiritual guru Asaram Bapu, the Himachal Pradesh government Friday sealed part of the campus raised by his ashram in the state's Sirmaur district by allegedly encroaching land, an official said.

"The central government had sought assistance from the state for sealing the campus allegedly encroached upon by Asaram Bapu's ashram and we have provided them," Deputy Commissioner Vikas Labroo told IANS.

He said only the campus raised on 14.6 bighas out of the total 30 bighas has been sealed.

The ashram, it is alleged, has encroached a huge chunk of forest land in Kunja Madralia village in Paonta Sahib subdivision in Sirmaur district, near Uttarakhand's Hardwar.

Official sources said the land, allegedly grabbed by the ashram, was evacuee land and belonged to the central government.

Acting on the direction of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the state government Sep 19 began probe into the alleged grabbing of land by the ashram.

The ashram has a printing press, a manufacturing unit of medicines and a huge hall.

Earlier, the state government took back possession of prime land in Solan district allotted to yoga guru Baba Ramdev for setting up his Patanjali Yogpeeth's branch as it found the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2010 violated statutory provisions in allotting it to him.